Gordo's Girls
by christylee
Summary: COMPLETED! So many girls in David Gordon's life! Some he likes, others like him, a few only want to use him. Where are Lizzie and Miranda on this merry go round? And who will Gordo be face to face with when the merry go round stops? Read and find out!
1. Nicole

_I know I said I was going to wait until I'd finished writing this before I started posting, and I'm only about halfway through, but I can't wait! I'm excited about this story._

_For those who may not know, this is part of my "Gordo Series," coming directly after Love Finds David Gordon. It would probably be that much better if you are familiar with the events that lead up to this story, but you could definately read this story on its own and follow it with no problem whatsoever._

_If I don't post again in the next few days, here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Delightful Kwanza. Peace!_

_-_

-

David Gordon opened his wallet, pulled out a tattered copy of his 10th grade English class reading list and peeked inside the folds. Yep, it was still there. One condom, in a bright blue glossy wrapper. Just in case.

Not that he really expected anything to happen tonight, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. He had never been a Boy Scout, but he had the Boy Scout mentality. _Be prepared._

And in the spirit of being prepared, he brushed his teeth one more time and gave himself a final squirt with Old Spice before slipping into his jacket and heading out the front door.

The place: The Holy Rigatoni, the nicest restaurant within walking distance from his house. The Girl: Nicole Hesselman, the most beautiful girl in the entire 10th grade class, and the sweetest girlfriend imaginable. The occasion: their anniversary celebration. It was exactly one year ago today that they had gone out on their first date, and ever since then it had been David and Nicole, Nicole and David…as it had never been Lizzie and Gordo in middle school.

In middle school Gordo had eyes for no other girl except Lizzie McGuire, but during their first term of high school, Lizzie had made it plain to Gordo that she considered him nothing more than a "brother." With his heart broken, Gordo had been fortunate enough to have Nicole come almost immediately to his rescue, picking him out of the pit of despair. But Nicole was so much more than a replacement, an alternate, a second choice. They had spent a wonderful year getting to know each other better. He wasn't exactly sure what love was supposed to feel like, but if this wasn't it, then it was surely something close.

And now, tonight, during this dinner at The Holy Rigatoni, Gordo hoped to remind Nicole of how many times she had said "I would never take it to the next level until I've been with someone at least one full year."

Gordo arrived at the restaurant and put his name on the list, then went outside to wait for Nicole. Generally they would have hooked up earlier and spent the afternoon together, but today she had a "family thing" and told him she would have her dad drop her off in front of the restaurant by seven o'clock Gordo checked his watch. It was seven o'clock now. He sat down on a bench, restlessly swinging his feet as he waited under the bright lights lining the busy sidewalk.

_The next level…the next level. _What did that mean? He knew what he thought it meant, and when he asked Nicole, she had blushed to a deep crimson and only said, "You know… doing more…stuff…"

Nicole was a good girl, a respectable girl, and Gordo had always respected that. Hearing her restrained response , Gordo did not pursue the issue. He knew the time would come for them, if only he was patient. After all, they were only in tenth grade. He was aware that some guys that were already "doing it" or at least claiming to, but the voice of reason told him in many ways fifteen was way too young for all that emotional commitment and responsibility.

However, he reasoned, looking down the street, searching for the arrival of Nicole's family van, if there were any two fifteen year olds more emotionally committed to each other, those two were Nicole and himself. And as for being responsible…well, he pulled out his wallet one more time, checking the folds of his tattered tenth grade reading list.

He was in fact looking directly at the condom when from the corner of his eye he saw the silver minivan pull up in front of the restaurant. Quickly, sheepishly, he returned his wallet to his pocket, and stood up to greet Nicole as she disembarked. He waved to Nicole's father, receiving a wave in return, but tonight there was no conversation between them, though Gordo had come to feel quite sure that Mr. Hesselman thought him a suitable boyfriend for his only daughter.

Mr. Hesselman drove away and Nicole came directly into Gordo's arms, hugging him fiercely.

"Hey, hey!" he laughed, running his hands over her long silky hair. "Calm down there, girl!"

"David…oh, Davey, " Nicole said. "You know how much I love you, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. Of course I do, Nikki. What's wrong? What's going on?"

He pulled her back and looked at her. She had been crying, that much he could tell. "Nikki," he repeated softly. "What is it?"

"Family issues. I'll tell you all about it. Inside. Let's go in and we'll sit and we'll talk. Did you get us a table?"

"We're on the list," Gordo said. "It shouldn't be too long now."

As they went in the hostess said, "Gordon? Your table is ready," and they were led to a quiet booth in the back. Nicole slid in on one side, Gordo on the other. The waitress approached and began to recite the daily specials. Gordo held up a hand and asked, "Nikki, do you want to try something new, or just the usual?"

"The usual," Nicole said quietly, and David ordered for both of them.

Alone at last, Gordo looked across the table at his girlfriend who appeared about ready to cry again. He took her hands in his and said, "Okay now. Tell me what's going on."

"Oh, Davey…it's terrible!" Nicole exclaimed in distress. "It's the absolute worst thing I could imagine. I don't know how I'm going to be able to get through this. I don't want to do this. You have to understand this is not my idea, not at all, my parents are forcing me to do this."

"To do what? Nikki, look at me. To do what?"

Nicole lifted her head. Her eyes were filled with tears. "Well," she began quietly. "You remember how last summer my family made me go with them to Minnesota to visit my aunt and uncle? You remember how awful that was, being apart for so long?"

"I remember," Gordo said. "But we made it through. We're still together, Nikki. What is it now? Winter break? Do you have to go away for the holidays?"

"Worse!" Nicole bawled. "We're leaving over winter break. But we're not coming back. We're going to Minnesota to live there! My uncle has a job for my dad. They're going into business together. It's supposed to be really good for us as a family, we're going to make so much more money and be able to go to the very best schools, and everything is going to be just peachy, yeah, just peachy, but…but… Davey, I have to leave! And I'm not going to see you any more, except maybe once in a while if we come back down for a vacation, but who knows when that might be…"

Gordo sat for a moment, stunned, feeling like his guts were somewhere outside his body, on the floor, and his brain was spinning out of control about to crash through the ceiling. He couldn't move. He couldn't do anything but sit there and listen to Nicole weeping, her hands held over her face.

David and Nicole. Nicole and David. Only not any more. David Gordon felt his world turning inside out. Everything had been going so well, and now…and now…

The only thing Gordo could think at the moment was, _Oh, crap! Life, as I know it, is over._


	2. Miranda

_Chapter 2. Enjoy the angst_.

-

-

Miranda Sanchez stood at the Gordon's front door, sporting a ponytail, wearing blue jeans, holding her skateboard. "Hi, Mrs. G! Is David home?"

Mrs. Gordon rolled her eyes. "Yes, he is, dear, but he's moping. He says he doesn't want to see anyone today."

Miranda frowned. "Why not?"

"It appears he and Nicole had a bit of a falling out last night. He's made a conscious decision to wallow in self pity."

Miranda raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really? And do you, as a psychiatrist, think it's healthy for him to wallow in self pity?"

"No, of course not, but…" Here Mrs. Gordon stopped and took a long, hard look at Miranda. Miranda had been Gordo's friend since first grade, and she was a girl who had a good head on her shoulders.

"Listen," Mrs. Gordon said conspiratorially. "Let's just say the front door was open, and you let yourself in through the screen door when no one answered. I didn't let you in."

Miranda nodded. "You didn't let me in," she agreed.

"You'll find him back in the den. Watching cartoons. In his pajamas," Mrs. Gordon sighed. "Please go talk to him, Miranda."

"I will," Miranda agreed.

Coming into the den, Miranda found everything exactly as Gordo's mother had described. He was eating cocoa puffs out of the box as he looked up at her and said, "I thought I left a message on your phone. No skateboard lesson today, Sanchez. I'm indisposed."

Miranda sat down on the couch next to Gordo. He pulled his legs up to his chest and frowned at her.

"I didn't get any message," Miranda said. "I've been down at the park, practicing my ollie. I want you to see. I've almost got it."

"Another time," Gordo said.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Miranda asked point blank.

"Why does anything have to be wrong? Maybe I just don't feel like going out today. Maybe I'm sick."

"Neither of which is true," Miranda said flatly. "You're wallowing in self pity."

"I'm----what?"

"I---oh, never mind."

"Did my mom let you in here?"

"No! She didn't!" Miranda objected.

Gordo sighed. "I told her…"

"Listen," Miranda said, getting right to the point. "This is not about your mom. This is about you, Dave. You and Nicole had a fight last night. What happened?"

Gordo grabbed the remote control and raised the volume on the TV. Bugs Bunny was in the middle of a loud "What's up, Doc?" when Miranda grabbed the remote from Gordo and shut the TV off altogether.

"Hey!" he objected.

"Dave, you're going to tell me what happened. I'm like your best friend, right? You don't keep things from your best friend."

"I'm not…keeping anything from you, Randa. It's just…I don't want to talk about it yet. It's just….It's…"

Gordo looked up over the top of the cereal box at Miranda staring pointedly at him. Her large brown eyes were gentle, yet demanding. Gordo knew he wasn't going to be able to get out of this one. And suddenly he didn't want to. He wanted to tell her. He just didn't want his voice to crack when he talked about it.

"Are you and Nicole…fighting?" Miranda asked quietly

Gordo took a deep breath. "Not exactly fighting. We're going through a tough time. Things aren't exactly going to be the same between us anymore."

This confused Miranda. Gordo and Nicole were as tight as could possibly be. There was no more devoted couple in the school. None of this made any sense. Yesterday afternoon he had been so excited about their date, yet now….

Miranda waited, and at last Gordo threw back his head and announced, "Oh, the hell with it. There isn't going to be any 'us' anymore."

"You're breaking up?" Miranda asked in shock.

"Yeah, well, it's kind of what happens when one of you has to move fifteen hundred miles away."

Miranda gasped. "Oh, Dave! Oh, no! How could---? You don't mean----? Oh, it's Mississippi, isn't it?"

"Minnesota," Gordo corrected.

"Whatever. It's where she went over the summer, where her family is from. And they're going there and…and never coming back?"

"Thanks, Miranda. I feel so much better already."

"Gordo…Gordo…Gordo…" Miranda said, slipping back into her childhood name for him as she leaned forward and hugged his knees, commiserating with him.

Gordo bit his lip and absently patted her hand on his knee. "I'm sorry, Randa. I have no right to be sarcastic with you. I know you only want the best for me. Only today, I think the best would be to…to let me be…alone…"

"No," Miranda insisted without a moment's hesitation. "I've seen you do this before, Gordon. You only sink deeper and deeper into the pit. I'm not going to let that happen. You're coming outside with me, in the fresh air and sunshine, we're going to the park, like we do every Saturday morning, and you're going to watch me do the ollie and tell me what I'm doing wrong. Like you do every Saturday morning. And along the way, if you want to talk about anything, I'm there. I'm always there for you, Gordo… David… Davey…"

Gordo gave her a sad smile. Yes, Miranda was always there for him. Until last year, Lizzie had been his oldest friend in the world. Now, despite a standing agreement that they were still friends, Lizzie was more often busy with new friends, and new boyfriends, on an almost constant basis. Gordo almost never saw Lizzie anymore. They only passed sometimes in the hall, and somehow, this year they did not even have any classes together.

But he and Miranda were both in AP History. And Miranda was his Saturday morning buddy, bound and determined to learn the ollie, despite Gordo's insistence that her…err…center of gravity no longer befitted that of a skateboarder. But Miranda was one determined girl and did not give up easily…not on skateboarding, and certainly not on him.

"Come on," she encouraged, pulling Gordo to his feet. "Upstairs with you. Put on some clothes, some real clothes, and let's go."

Gordo stretched, his long tee shirt falling almost to the knees of his flannel pants. Miranda sat back and looked at him. So skinny, she thought. And that hair…so messy. What did Nicole see in him, anyway?

Gordo looked at Miranda looking at him, and after a moment she felt like she was blushing. "Go!" she demanded. "Time's awastin'!"

"You know what," Gordo said as he left the room. "I feel sorry for whoever marries you, Randa. I feel sorry for your kids. Oh man, your poor kids! They're never going to be able to get away with anything, are they?"

"Go!" Miranda repeated, shooing him out of the room. She turned on the TV again, and flipped through the channels as she waited for Gordo to get ready for their Saturday morning outing. Gordo…she rolled her eyes, again thinking, _what did Nicole see in him?_

What did Parker see in him? Parker McKenzie! All at once Miranda realized Parker McKenzie was going to be all over Gordo the moment she heard Nicole was out of the picture. Miranda pulled herself up straight, laughed a little, and announced to no one in particular, "Oh no…that's not going to happen. Not if I can help it."

Then she sat back again, listening to her words bounce off the walls of the empty room. Why had she said that? To protect Gordo, of course. Yes, she was protective. Overly protective. He was right. Her poor kids.

But…but..

But was there something else going on here? Suddenly Miranda Sanchez felt extremely strange. What was she feeling? She wasn't going to let Parker McKenzie have Gordo because….because…

NO. It couldn't be. _She_ didn't like Gordo.

Did she?


	3. AnnaBelle and Meryl

_Happy New Year to everyone! I had a little Writer's Block for a few days, but now I'm up and running again. Hope you're digging these short chapters. They're so much fun to write, and I'll just keep em coming, until I run out of girls to put Gordo's life in a whirlwind! (May that never happen!)_

_-_

-

Miranda Sanchez sat on the curb, watching Gordo pop ollie after ollie on his skateboard. It had been almost two years since Gordo had taken up the sport, and if his cousin Adam, the skateboarding guru, could see him now, he would surely be impressed with his pupil's progress. Miranda had been skateboarding with Gordo for about six months, and she was certainly impressed. She stood up from the curb and skated out towards him.

"All right, Gordon," she said. "Show me that move again. And what exactly are you doing there with your shoulders?"

"I can show you what I'm doing," Gordo offered, "but it won't do you any good. I'm throwing my shoulders forward to balance my center of gravity. If you were to do that, Randa, you would fall flat on your face."

"Is that another reference to my chest?" Miranda questioned, trying to hold back a grin.

Gordo shrugged as he coasted away. "I didn't say that."

"No, you didn't, but you were thinking it. Gordo," she teased, " I think you're getting fresh with me."

Gordo continued coasting, but barely a smile crossed his face. Miranda didn't usually flirt with him, and she wasn't exactly sure that was what she was doing now. She only wanted to say something to make him laugh, or smile. But it wasn't working.

She sighed heartily, tried an ollie, but failed miserably, not so much due to a lack of skill as to the preoccupation of her own mind. Gordo was miserable, and she didn't know how to help him. He wouldn't talk to her, and she did not seem able to distract him.

"Hey," she said suddenly. "How about we go look for Tudge? Aren't he and Meryl coming out today?"

"Probably," Gordo said, flipping the board into his waiting hand. Larry Tudgeman and his girlfriend Meryl had been together over a year now, and continued their tradition of visiting the park on Saturday mornings to play chess.

"Well, let's go find them," Miranda repeated. "You can play a game or two while I practice." Something, anything to take Gordo's mind off his troubles.

But Gordo shrugged apathetically.

What? Gordo not wanting to play chess?

Miranda took a deep breath. "Gordo…"

"It's AnnaBelle," he explained instantly.

"AnnaBelle?" Miranda asked in surprise. "What about her?"

"She'll probably be with them," Gordo said. "And she'll want me to _mentor_ her again."

"Mentor?" Miranda wondered.

"Yeah, she's got this idea in her head that I'm the only person who can teach her how to improve her chess game. She always wants me to play her, she won't leave me alone."

Miranda smirked. "Girls who won't leave you alone," she said. "What a problem."

"It _is _a problem," Gordo insisted. "And besides, I wouldn't exactly call AnnaBelle a _girl_, would you?"

"She definitely has a unique style," Miranda agreed. AnnaBelle dressed only in black and had tattoos and piercings all over her body. "But just because she's a Goth," Miranda insisted, "that doesn't preclude her having the hots for you."

Gordo's sideways glance was accompanied by a sour expression.

_Yeah, that's right, Gordo_, Miranda thought. _Nicole has the hots for you. Parker has the hots for you. Even AnnaBelle has the hots for you. But I do not have the hots for you._

"AnnaBelle does not have the hots for me," Gordo said dryly, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, Miranda. She's just using me to improve her chess game."

"Okay," Miranda said. "Let's go find AnnaBelle and let her use you, okay?"

Miranda dragged Gordo off towards the other end of the park, where indeed they found AnnaBelle, sitting at a table opposite Tudge and Meryl. Tudge and AnnaBelle were intent upon the chessboard between them, but Meryl looked up instantly, offering a bright smile.

"Hi, Gordon!" she greeted. "Hi, Miranda!"

For the first time since Gordo had greeted Nicole coming out of her family van last night, he found himself smiling, a real smile, not a sad smile. There was something about Meryl that always made him smile. Perhaps it was the freckles. There was no other way to respond to so many freckles than with a big, hearty smile.

"Hey," Gordo said. "Who's winning?"

"I am," Tudge said, never looking up from the board. "And I'm gonna clobber you next, Gordon."

"No, I have him next," AnnaBelle announced, also never taking her eyes off the board. "Hi, Dave. Hi, Randa."

"_MI-randa,_" Miranda reminded. AnnaBelle did not know her well enough to use the shortened version.

"Sure," AnnaBelle said, moving a rook.

"So, Gordon," Meryl said. "You and Nikki coming to the movies with me and Tudge tonight?"

A pained look passed over Gordo's face. Miranda went instantly to his side to protect him. Of course Meryl had no way of knowing what was happening, but once she saw Gordo's face, surely she would know something was not right.

"Oh," Miranda began instantly, "I think Dave told me that tonight he---he---"

"Miranda," Gordo said impatiently, "I can speak for myself."

"But---"

"Shhhh!" Tudge demanded sharply.

Gordo looked at Meryl and saw that she was looking directly at him. Sometimes, especially lately, it seemed to Gordo that Meryl was always looking directly at him, with those bright green eyes. And not only that, but she seemed to see right through him. Like now, for instance, she obviously knew something was wrong. She would not take her eyes off him. Gordo looked away.

"Dave…?" Meryl said quietly.

The tone of Meryl's voice was not lost on Miranda, who tried to cover the awkward moment by announcing, "Speaking of movies, last weekend Lizzie and I went to see Love Actually."

"Dave…?" Meryl repeated.

"Chick flick," Larry pronounced, never looking up from the chessboard.

Gordo dared to look back at Meryl and was disturbed to see that she was still looking at him. The worst thing about this intense attention was the way it made him feel. This had happened to him more than a few times in the last month, and he knew it couldn't be right. Larry was his friend, his best guy friend. It was wrong, just wrong, to be thinking what he was thinking about his best friend's girlfriend. And it was especially wrong in light of everything that has happened last night with Nicole.

"Dave…" Meryl said for a third time, and instantly Gordo heard himself saying, "I don't think Nikki and I will be coming out to the movies tonight, Merr. I'm not sure if Nikki and I will…will ever be…"

Meryl sat up straight. "Ever be…what?" she asked, all senses keen. "Don't tell me you and Nikki are breaking up?"

"Shhh!" Tudge demanded again, but Meryl totally ignored him.

"Dave, what is it?" Meryl persisted. "What's going on?"

"Nikki's moving," Gordo spit out.

"Oh my God, no! Dave!"

Miranda stood there looking back and forth between Gordo and Meryl. Both were clearly distressed, but both were also clearly…well, not exactly clearly, but Miranda could tell…

_Okay,_ she thought. _So add one more to the list. Meryl has the hots for Gordo…_

What Miranda could not tell, however, was that it was a single thought that had Gordo looking exceptionally miserable, and that single thought, which he had tried so hard and failed to keep out of his mind was: _Hey, now that I'm single again, maybe Meryl and I could…._

Then as quickly as the thought had come to him, he chased it away, scolding himself profusely. This wasn't right.

Gordo looked at Meryl looking at him, and all he could think was, _This isn't right. _And even as he was thinking this, his cell phone rang in his pocket. He recognized "Pretty Woman" as the song he had assigned to Nicole and immediately turned from the group, putting the phone to his ear.

"Nikki?" he said.

He heard her sniff. "Davey? Davey, can I see you? I don't like the way everything turned out last night. I could hardly sleep at all. I feel so bad. We need to talk. Can I see you?"

Gordo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Of course," he said. "I'll be right over."


	4. Nicole again

_Thanks for all the reviews on the story. To brie, I never thought of it that way, but yes...hehe...Gordo IS a stud! I guess I 'm writing from a personal prejudice here. I can't imagine any girl NOT being in love with him. Anyways..._

_If I love him so much, why do I give him so much grief? Oh, what drama, oh what angst...oh what fun! Everything will turn out wonderful for Gordo in the end, I assure you. And to my mystery reviewer who thinks Lizzie and Gordo remain "just friends" in high school...maybe yes, maybe no. The story is not over yet. But either way, it's definately "cool." _; )

_ Okay, enough! On with the story!_

_-_

-

Gordo rang the front doorbell of the Hessler house. In only a moment, Nicole's mother appeared, saying, "Oh, Dave. I'm glad you're here. I hope you'll be able to say something to cheer up Nikki. I guess she's told you our news. I'm so sorry, honey. I know it's going to be rough on you two, but I'm sure everything will work out all right in the end."

Gordo looked at Nicole's mom, wondering how in the world she could think everything was going to work out all right in the end. Of course, she was likely to say something about them both being so young, and they would find other people, and in a few years---

Gordo didn't want to hear it. "Thank you, Mrs. H," he said quickly. "Where's Nicole?"

At that moment Nicole appeared in the foyer. Once again, Gordo could tell she'd been crying. In fact, she looked worse today than she had yesterday, and he knew she had not been exaggerating when she said she hardly slept at all.

"Davey…" she said quietly, walking towards him with her hands outstretched.

Gordo glanced quickly at Nicole's mother. He and Nicole had been very careful not to be too demonstrative in front of the parental units, not wanting to cause any undue anxiety, but suddenly Gordo thought,_…what the hell. _ He took Nicole's hands and pulled her into himself, wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her neck, right in front of her mother.

Oh, this felt good. Last night had not felt good. This was better. He closed his eyes, reveling in how good this felt and drowning in the certain knowledge that their hugs were numbered. The Hesslers were moving in two weeks.

After a moment, during which Gordo could feel a sob trying to heave its way out of Nicole's body, he heard her mother say, "Why don't you two go out on the front porch? Do you want me to bring you some sodas?"

Nicole pulled away from her boyfriend and wiped her eyes. "No thanks, Mom. Not for me. Davey, do you need anything?"

_Yes,_ he thought. _I need you to stay with me. I need you here._ What he said was, "No. No, I'm fine. Thanks, though, Mrs. H."

_Yeah, thanks for screwing up my life._

_-_

The front porch was tall, with many brick steps leading down to the street. Gordo and Nicole sat on the top step, their hands intertwined and Nicole started immediately by saying, "Davey. Yesterday was awful."

"Yes, it was," he agreed.

"And I don't just mean the news about me moving. I also mean what happened…afterwards."

"No. No, " Gordo said instantly. "I've been thinking about that, and you were right."

"No, no," Nicole replied. "I've been thinking about it and…and _you_ were right, Davey. I was wrong."

"Nikki!" he exclaimed in exasperation. "Don't do this. You don't have to do this."

"I know I don't have to," she said. "But I want to. I thought about it and…and I want to. I think we should."

Gordo groaned. After a single sleepless night for both of them, this wound had not even begun to heal, and now Nicole wanted to start digging around in it again. He remembered too well what had happened last night, and it was not a pretty picture.

In the restaurant last night, after he got over the initial shock of Nicole's announcement, the ever-logical Gordo tried to come up with a plan to somehow keep them together.

First, he reasoned, they were nearly sixteen. In two years they would be old enough to do whatever they pleased. They needed to maintain a strong, long-distance relationship for only two years.

Only? 

Or how about this? They were both smart. Maybe they could work on getting early admission to the same university.

If not, then how about…Frequent trips to visit each other? Gordo said he was willing to get a job to earn the money for plane fare, if that's what he had to do.

Or maybe he could transfer schools and come live with her family, or her uncle's family. His parents might not object.

Yeah, right… 

Finally, Gordo reasoned, they should run away together. His cousin Adam lived in Berkeley. Gordo had told Adam all about Nicole and how they felt about each other. Surely Adam would be willing to help them find a place to live, a way to stay together---

"David!" Nicole had exclaimed at this point, and Gordo stopped suddenly, realizing that logic had given way to desperation.

But then it happened again, logic giving way to desperation. As they continued to talk over the table and over their food which they barely touched, the conversation came around to Nicole's statement that she would be willing to take their relationship to "the next level" after being together a year.

Gordo said something, he didn't remember exactly what, but Nicole gasped, suddenly realizing that Gordo had been thinking that she was now going to have sex with him.

"Have I been with you this long," she asked, the hurt evident in her voice, "and still you don't know me better than that?"

"Have I been with you this long, and still you don't love me enough to want to do it with me?" Gordo shot back immediately.

And was immediately sorry he'd said it, especially the way he had said it.

And so things went from bad to worse, as each tried to defend their position.

Even under normal circumstances, this would have been an anxious and tormented discussion, but in view of Nicole's most recent news, the sensitivity of it all became unbearable.

And now, sitting on the front porch, Gordo felt like it was about to become unbearable again.

"Nikki," he announced. "We're not going to talk about this. We agreed last night that there's no sense in it, that even if we did both somehow decide it would be all right to…to…_you know_…" he said cautiously, glancing back at the front door of the house directly behind them, "well…even if we could agree, under the circumstances of you moving, it just doesn't make any sense at this point."

Nicole squeezed his hand as she said, "But it does, Davey, it does! I thought about it all night, and it makes perfect sense. Like you said, to give ourselves this one beautiful time together, something we'll never forget---"

"No!" Gordo interrupted forcefully, as much to dissuade himself as her. "It's a stupid idea. I can't believe I ever thought of doing such a thing. I can't believe you're even considering it."

"But…but…you were all for it last night," Nicole said in confusion.

"That was last night. When I was stupid."

"Davey, what's wrong?" Nicole asked in a small voice. "Don't you want to…to do it with me anymore?"

"Oh, God, Nikki! That's not the question. Of course I want to do it. I want to do everything that has anything to do with you. I love you, Nikki. I love you so much, and it's killing me that you're leaving, but…but…I realized last night that you're right. It's killing me, and it's killing you, and if we do…you know, _that_…it's going to be like the final nail in the coffin. It will kill us both, I know it will. How would we ever be able to say goodbye when the time comes?"

Nicole was leaning against him, her head against his chest, and he could feel her crying again. He put his arms around her. This was bad. He felt so confused. He believed what he was saying to her right now. But he also still believed everything he had said to her last night.

Neither of them really knew what to do, or what to say, and so for the moment they simply sat together, hugging each other, drowning in their sorrow.

The only thing they both knew for certain was that no matter what eventually happened, it was going to hurt like hell.


	5. Kate

_A little bit of Kate. Enjoy._

-

-

"Ewww!" Kate Sanders whined. "I am _not_ touching that disgusting thing!"

Gordo, as her lab partner, rolled his eyes. "Kate," he said. "It's just a baby piglet. In a way, it's a lot less disgusting than the octopus we had to dissect in eighth grade."

"I didn't touch that, either!" Kate insisted, horrified to think that somebody could even imagine her doing such a thing.

"How did you get out of it?" Gordo wondered, positioning the piglet in the lab tray.

"I had Tudgeman do it for me."

Gordo rolled his eyes again. "Tudgeman…"

"And you're going to take care of this…this piglet thingy for me now, aren't you, Gordo sweetie?"

Gordo frowned as he positioned the knife. "It's David, remember? And why should I, Kate? Why should I let you keep sliding by? I mean, what's in it for me?"

Generally, Gordo would have let this slide. Kate was fully convinced in her own mind that she could wrap any man around her little finger, and while she could in fact do that with most guys, Gordo was not one of them. However, through many years of dealing with Kate, he had learned that it was a lot less painful to simply let her have her way than to resist her insistent attempts to tie him in knots.

But now he felt different. Ever since he had leaned that Nicole would be moving away to Minnesota, he found himself overwhelmed by the impression that the world was not a fair place. Gordo was mad as hell and wasn't going to take it any more! He found himself being surly and rude to his parents, his teachers, even his friends.

Even Nicole. They had so little time left together, yet rather than enjoying it, he could not help but dig the knife in, almost as if accusing her of purposely leaving him, of wanting to go. Most days now, he had her in tears, or almost in tears, and he hated himself for it, but he didn't know how to stop.

And as if this wasn't bad enough, they were still struggling together with the question of whether or not they should sleep together, at least one time before she had to leave. The bright blue package was burning a hole in his wallet. Sometimes he almost imagined he could smell the smoke.

Sometimes, Gordo would find himself making Nicole cry with his sharp words, then he would instantly feel sorry, take her in his arms, and comfort her, and kiss her, and before long he would find his hands traveling up under her blouse, and feel himself rise to the occasion, thinking about that bright blue package, wondering if now at last he was going to get the chance to open it up.

They would get so close, and Nicole, tears still in her eyes, seemed so willing, but somehow…somehow….something always happened, a parent would walk by, or one of them would say a certain word that would cause reason to kick in, and the moment would be gone. And then Nicole would cry some more, and Gordo would stand up and run his hands through his hair, cursing himself, hating his life.

As far as he could figure, he was in a lose-lose situation.

And being in this situation, he certainly didn't need to be dealing with any of _Kate's_ crap. He looked at her pointedly and repeated, in that surly tone that clung all too easily to his voice these days, "Really, Kate. What's in it for me?"

Kate pulled herself up, not used to being challenged. After all, wasn't the pleasure of her company reward enough? Perhaps she should offer to allow him to take her out on a date. But then…ugh! No. This was Gordo. She'd known him too long and too well. She wasn't going to put herself through _that_, not even if he agreed to dissect an elephant for her.

But suddenly she had an idea. "You know Alexa Kennsington?"

Gordo eyed her suspiciously as he made the first cut. "Yeah. What about her?"

"Well, for some reason that I totally cannot understand, she thinks you're cute. And she's even willing to risk her reputation by going out with a dweeb like you. I could arrange it."

"Kate," Gordo said instantly, dryly. "I have no interest in going out with Alexa Kennsington."

"Why not?" Kate exclaimed. "What are you, gay? Every guy wants to go out with Alexa."

"In case you haven't noticed, Kate, I've been in a committed relationship with Nicole Hessler for the last year."

"Sure," Kate allowed, peeking into the lab tray and grimacing. "But now she's leaving. You need to jump right back in, Gordo. You need a girl like Alexa."

Gordo snorted derisively. "A girl like Alexa would tear me to shreds, wipe her hands and move on to the next victim. No thanks. What I need right now is to be left alone."

"Suit yourself," Kate said with a shrug. "But the offer stands."

Gordo slit open the piglet's stomach, more forcefully than he needed to, and formaldehyde oozed onto his latex gloves. Kate glanced at him briefly, then admired her perfect manicure.

"You know," Kate added thoughtfully, "I understand that Lizzie and Brad have been having some trouble lately."

The knife slipped, and Gordo cursed. "Crap! I've slit the intestines!"

Kate grimaced. "You really should be more careful, Gordo."

"What would you know about Lizzie?" Gordo demanded uneasily. "You don't move in the same circles as Lizzie and---and---"

But Gordo could not remember his name. All of Lizzie's boyfriends blended together in his mind. Ever since they'd entered high school, she seemed to be dating the same guy. They were all tall and blonde and incredible good looking, and they all had trendy names that began with "Br." First there had been Brett, then Brandon, or was it Brendon? Then Bryan, and who was it now? Britt? Or Brad? Gordo could not keep up.

"And besides!" he spit out suddenly, giving Kate the evil eye. "What makes you think I give a shit who Lizzie dates anyway?"

"Oh, you give a shit, Gordo," Kate said, nodding. "You're still carrying a torch."

"I am not!" Gordo shot back, now more aggravated than he had a right to be.

Kate pulled herself up on her chair and huffed. "Are you doubting my powers of observation? Gordo! I may not know much when it comes to Biology and Chemistry as subjects in school, but when you're talking about the interactions between the sexes, I see all and I know all. Nothing escapes my knowledge."

Kate eyed Gordo, and for a moment her attitude seemed to soften. "Hey," she said quietly. "I know you're not interested in Alexa, but I thought I'd ask for her anyway. The poor, misguided girl. But Lizzie….oh, yeah, Lizzie. That's a different story altogether."

"Shut up, Kate," Gordo spit back vehemently.

"And by the way, all these pretty boys she's been going out with---"

"Kate…" he warned.

"And not only that, but when I look at you, Gordo, I can see that as much as you love Nicole, every now and then your eye still wanders to---"

"Shut up, Kate!" came flying from his mouth, a bit too loudly.

Everyone else in the class stopped what they were doing and looked at Gordo. Embarrassed, he sunk his head that much closer to the pig's now totally mutilated intestines.

"Oh my!" Kate said airily. "Hit a sensitive spot, have I?"

"Look," Gordo said. "You've made your point, you've got your deal. Just sit there looking pretty and keep your mouth shut, okay? I got this covered. No need for you to snap on the gloves. I wouldn't want you to break a nail or anything."

Kate grinned triumphantly, sarcastically. "Thanks, Gordo. You really are such a sweetheart, you know that?"


	6. Parker and Lizzie

_Now at last the story moves along a little faster, with the introduction of both Parker and Lizzie. I'm setting up events that will lead to Parker's Obsession, which of course eventually brings us to that day at the beach which Gordo describes to Jo McGuire in The Graduate. I've had all the ideas for this complete storyline in my head for so long, and now at last I begin to see great gaps of it getting filled in, so it's exciting for me as the writer to see it all starting to gel._

_By the way, all the girls who are crushing on Gordo have now been mentioned or made an appearance. This is the extent of his "studhood." LOL!_

_Enjoy!_

_-_

-

Gordo washed up after dissecting the piglet and was in the busy hallway, heading towards the courtyard for lunch. After spending a half hour messing around in a pig's innards, Gordo was hardly in the mood for food. What made the thought of lunch even more unappetizing today, though, were Kate's odd comments implying she knew exactly how he felt about all the different women in his life. Was he really that transparent? If so, trouble no doubt lay ahead.

Gordo walked alone, deep in thought, hoping it was only, as Kate had suggested, that she had magical powers that enabled her to see things nobody else could see. He hoped that was all it was, because if anybody else should figure out---

"Hi, David."

At the sound of this peculiar, yet all too familiar voice, Gordo winced. There was no way he could pretend he hadn't heard, so he looked up, force a smile and said, "Hi, Parker."

Parker McKenzie immediately fell into step beside him. "So," she questioned. "Going to lunch?"

"Yeah," he answered simply.

"With Nicole?" she asked, her annoyingly nasal voice raising up on the last syllable.

"No," Gordo answered. "Nikki's in B lunch. So are you. You should know that."

"Yeah, that's right," Parker conceded, then got straight to the point. "So I hear she's leaving."

Gordo nodded, wishing Parker would magically disappear.

"That's too bad," Parker drawled on, followed immediately by, "So when does she leave? I mean…exactly? What day?"

"Next Saturday," Gordo said. "Directly after school lets out for Winter Break."

"So she won't be around during Winter Break?" Parker clarified, then repeated, quickly, "That's too bad."

But she didn't sound like she really thought it was too bad, and Gordo responded, "Your sympathy is astounding, McKenzie. Thanks for caring."

They continued walking, and the crowd thinned as they approached the courtyard. Gordo knew that Parker had Drama class before B Lunch, and she wouldn't be headed this way to get there, so obviously she was continuing to walk with him because she had something up her sleeve.

_Oh great, _Gordo thought. _I can hardly wait._

In a little bit, Parket suddenly asked, "You like Green Day?"

"Sure," Gordo said, caught offguard. "Everybody likes them."

"Ever see them in concert?"

"No. But sure would like to."

_Doh!_ Gordo kicked himself, immediately realizing where this was going.

"I've got tickets!" Parker said brightly. "You know they're coming to the Coors Amphitheater December 28. Wanna go?"

"Oh, I---uh---you know---"

"Nicole will be gone by then, David. You wouldn't be cheating on her."

"I wouldn't be cheating on her _anyway,_ Parker," Gordo said flatly, "because if---and I stress _if_---I were to ever go to a concert with you, it would only be as a friend. You know what happened last time we tried to date."

"I know," Parker said lightly.

"And we're not going there again," Gordo insisted.

"Oh, I know, Silly!" Parker almost sang, playfully punching his arm. "That's not what I meant, David! That's not it at all! I just want to---to---you know, hang out with you a little…"

Gordo sighed deeply. This was difficult. On the one hand, Parker. On the other hand, Green Day. He would love nothing better than to see Green Day in concert, and at the Coors, no less! But…on the other hand….Parker….

"Oh come on!" she cried, touching his arm again. "David, it will be so much fun! You have to say yes! I can't think of anybody else I'd rather have go with me. As a friend, I mean."

"I don't know, Parker. Nicoles will only be gone a few days. I don't think I'll much be in the mood for---"

"But that's exactly why you have to go!" Parker reasoned. "It will be fun, it will help you forget your troubles. Oh, David! Please say yes!"

By this time they were in the middle of the courtyard and quickly approaching Gordo's table, where Miranda and Tudge were already seated and eating. Gordo smiled at them quickly, embarrassed to be found talking to Parker, who had caused him more than a little trouble in the past. He knew Miranda was going to give him an earful about this.

"Oh, hi," Parker greeted lazily, looking down at Miranda and Tudge. Then she once again touched Gordo's arm, giving him all her attention as she said sweetly, "Please think about it, won't you, David? I won't offer the ticket to anyone else until I hear from you, okay?"

Gordo nodded. "Sure," he agreed. "See you, Parker."

A moment later, Gordo sat down , once again offering Miranda that apologetic smile. Miranda watched Parker saunter away, then turned to glare at Gordo.

"What was Parker McKenzie talking to you about?" she hissed.

"Oh, well, it seems she wants me to go to a concert with her."

"You're going to say no," Miranda stated.

"It's Green Day," Gordo explained simply.

"Dude!" Larry exclaimed.

"I know," Gordo replied miserably.

"Gordo!" Miranda reprimanded, once again slipping back to his childhood name. "I don't care if it's the freakin' Beatles themselves, with John Lennon come back from the dead. You cannot go out with Parker McKenzie. She's evil, she's wicked. You know what she's like."

Larry knit his eyebrows in confusion. "Parker's not the devil, Miranda."

Miranda gave him her biggest eyes possible. "You don't know, Tudge. You weren't there. Besides, you're an innocent, totally spoiled by Meryl. You have no idea how wicked that woman can be. Parker is not Meryl, Tudge. Think of it this way: the body isn't even cold yet, and already Parker's ready to pounce. I wouldn't wish her on my worst enemy, never mind my best friend."

"Look," Gordo said, feeling more aggravated by Miranda's attitude than by anything Parker may have ever done to him. "I'm a big boy, Randa. I can take care of myself."

"Dave," Miranda said gently, "I'm only saying you're going to be…at a very vulnerable stage over the next several weeks, maybe months. There are some girls who might want to…to take advantage…"

As Miranda looked at Gordo, she sighed, feeling suddenly very sappy. Yes, girls would take advantage, and she wanted to protect him. But she wasn't sure if what she was feeling was a motherly instinct to defend an innocent child, or a warrior princess jealously shielding her lover against the advances of all other warrior princesses.

Gordo looked at Miranda, noted her sappy expression, and instantly felt sorry for his harsh words a moment earlier. Of course Miranda cared for him. Everything she did was only because she cared for him. He gave her a sad smile and began, "Randa…"

"Gordo…" she returned, but a moment later, she saw his eyes lift from hers, following some movement behind her in the courtyard.

"Gordo," she repeated, but by the way his eyes were stuck, Miranda instinctively knew this could be only one of two things, and Nicole was not in this lunch period.

But Lizzie was.

"Lizzie!" Larry called, waving.

"Hi, Tudge. Hi, Miranda."

"Hi, Lizzie," Miranda said, tensing up, not even turning.

"Hi, Gordo," Lizzie said, finishing up her greetings, but this one much more softly than the others.

Gordo's eyes were stuck. Lizzie approached the table, holding hands with Brad (or was it Brett?). But Gordo did not see him. He only saw Lizzie.

"Hi, Lizzie," he said quietly.

"Oh, Gordo…" Lizzie said. "I heard about Nicole, I'm so sorry. So sorry."

"I…well…yeah…" Gordo said stupidly.

"If there's anything I can do, Gordo," Lizzie offered sympathetically. "Anything at all…"

Gordo looked at her, unable to speak. God! She was beautiful. There was something about Lizzie. There would always be something about Lizzie. Try as he might, he doubted he would ever be able to break completely free of her influence.

_Damn!_ Nicole was still here, "the body not yet cold," as Miranda had put it, and already Gordo found himself looking at Lizzie, wondering if there was any way she might be persuaded to break up her string of tall, blonde boyfriends whose names began with "Br" for a short, dark boy she could never call David, no matter how many times he reminded her.

But he didn't mind, no, not really. Lizzie could call him Gordo all she wanted. As long as she did indeed call him. And Gordo so strongly felt at this moment that no matter what else might ever happen in his life, all Lizzie needed to do was walk by and call him with that single, sweet "Hi, Gordo," and all hope would be lost. There were girls, and there were girls. And then there was Lizzie.

Gordo felt sure there would always be Lizzie.


	7. Meryl

The Chess Club knew no holiday. On the Sunday before Christmas a Match was scheduled with nearby Jefferson County. Nicole had left only the day before, and chess was the last thing David Gordon had on his mind, but when he missed the Saturday outing in the park, both Tudge and Meryl phoned and urged him not to let down the team. They needed his expertise.

Gordo felt sure he wouldn't be playing up to par, that his mind would be elsewhere, but they each insisted. To Larry he'd said "We'll see." With Meryl, it was a harder to say no, especially when she pleaded, "Come on, Gordon! I'll even have my mom come pick you up. And I'll buy you a strawberry milkshake at Mickey Dee's. Please?"

So now it was Sunday morning, and Gordo found himself sitting on the curb outside the front of the school, sipping a strawberry milkshake while Meryl worked on that traditional holiday favorite, eggnog. They were early, waiting for the others to arrive, including Mr. Dig in the school van, who would drive them all to West Side High in Jefferson County.

Gordo looked across at Meryl and grimaced. "Eggnog?"

She nodded heartily, sucking on the straw.

Gordo shivered. "Ughh…."

That was all they said for quite a while. Any other time, Gordo would have found it nice sitting here with Meryl, but today all his thoughts were with Nicole, who at this moment must be somewhere in the Midwest, in the back seat of her family's SUV, traveling to her new home, her new school, and her new life, which would not include him.

Yesterday had been horrible, and today didn't promise to be much better.

Meryl seemed to understand Gordo was not up to conversation and allowed him the quiet opportunity to work on his milkshake. For this, Gordo was extremely grateful. The air felt cool and thin, and the morning was quiet, save the chirping of some birds in a nearby tree. All of this, though, was lost on Gordo, who could not quiet the sounds of Nicole's sobs in his mind. It had been less than twenty four hours. He really shouldn't be here. He wasn't cried out yet. What if he couldn't make it through this day…?

Gordo's anxious thoughts were interrupted by the loud slurping of Meryl coming to the end of her milkshake, vaccuming the bottom of the cup with the straw. He looked across and she shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry…"

Gordo smiled a little, but said nothing.

"Still working on yours?" Meryl questioned.

Gordo nodded, but still he said nothing.

"Oh, look," Meryl said. "It's Scott and Ricardo. Hey, guys! Over here!"

Their fellow chess players approached, walking in from outside the chain link fence. "Hey," Scott said. "What's up?"

"Oh, you know," Meryl said breezily. "Same old, same old."

She then began to converse amiably, doing everything she could to keep the attention off Gordo, who just sat quietly and listened, amazed that his three friends could enjoy each other's company like normal people whose hearts were not broken.

In a little while, Gordo was able to tune them out. Once again he was thinking of Nicole, and wondering why he insisted on torturing himself like this. He should just go home. He wanted nothing more than to just go home.

And then, as he was about ready to bolt from the scene, Ricardo suddenly turned the conversation by asking, "Hey, Meryl, did Tudge tell you what he found in his locker Friday afternoon?"

Meryl glanced warily at Gordo, then said, "Yeah, I heard about that."

Ricardo laughed and Scott questioned, "What was it? What did he find?"

"Hey, Gordon, did you hear?" Ricardo persisted.

"It's no big deal," Meryl said.

"What was it?" Scott repeated.

Gordo sat paralyzed, knowing what was coming. Ricardo laughed again and said, "A condom! Somebody slipped a condom through the slats of the Tudge-man's locker. A Christmas gift, maybe? Santy Claus looking out for Tudge and Meryl?" he teased.

Under normal circumstances, Gordo would have jumped to Meryl's defense. She was, however, quite capable of defending herself, and so, pulling herself up to her full height of almost five feet one half inch, she smacked Ricardo on the arm. "Shut up, Blanco! That's none of your business!"

"A condom?" Scott asked. "What kind of condom?"

"I don't know!" Ricardo laughed.

"'Ribbed for her pleasure'?" Scott wondered.

"No! Just a normal condom. In a blue package. A Trojan, I think. That's the one in the blue package, right? Hey, Gordon, which is the one in the blue package?"

Gordo buried himself in his milkshake and once again Meryl found her feathers ruffled, placing herself between Gordo and Ricardo. "Leave him alone!" she demanded. "Don't you know? Nicole left only yesterday. He doesn't need any of your shit right now, Blanco."

"Oh, man!" Ricardo exclaimed. "Sorry, dude! I didn't know."

"Sorry, dude," Scott agreed.

"Well, now you know," Meryl said testily.

Thankfully, at that moment, a red station wagon pulled into the parking lot.

"Oh look, it's AnnaBelle," Scott said as they all watched her get out of the car. "Look at her mom," he said in absolute amazement. "Her mom looks so normal, doesn't she?"

Now the topic had shifted, and in a few moments, AnnaBelle joined the small group. The discussion now turned to whether Tudge and Amy would be joining them today, and where could Mr. Dig be?

Gordo sunk back again, reliving the dreadful conversation about the condom. Of course he knew all about it. He had put the damn thing in Tudge's locker, late Friday afternoon, slamming his fists against the metal slats as he fought back tears.

He and Nicole had just had their final parting, right out here on the front steps of the school. Everything was packed up and ready to go, the Hessels would be leaving first thing in the morning. This was it. This was the end of David and Nicole, Nicole and David. They stood on the front steps, they hugged, they kissed, and Nicole sobbed those sobs he could not now get out of his mind, while her dad waited patiently in the SUV at the curb.

Gordo had wanted to cry too, but he wasn't going to let himself do that in front of Mr. Hessel . He wasn't going to give Nicole's dad the satisfaction of knowing that his life had been utterly ruined.

And he was determined to stay strong for Nicole. So he dried her tears, he kissed her eyes, he promised to write and phone, and then he put her in the SUV, still clinging to her hand as much as she clung to his. Then she was taken away from him, ripped out of his life, and he went back into the now empty school, punching lockers, tearing flyers from the wall. He didn't know what to do with himself, he didn't know how to make himself believe this was really over.

Then suddenly he remembered the condom in his wallet. He didn't need it anymore. He and Nicole had not used it, and he felt quite certain he would not have an opportunity to use it any time in the near future. At first he had the idea to perform a ritualistic destruction. Perhaps he should go in the bathroom and burn it? Maybe he could fill it with water and fling it from the roof of the school. Wasn't there a paper shredder in the school office? He should run it through the paper shredder, a symbolic gesture of the absolute shredding of all his hopes and dreams.

But in the end his altruistic spirit won out and he decided to gift it to someone. And who better than his best friends, Tudge and Meryl? He had no idea whether or not they were "doing it." Both insisted this was a highly personal question and shared the details of their sex life with no one, not even their closest friends. Gordo suspected they were. He hoped they were, he hoped somebody was, because he certainly wasn't and didn't see how he ever would.

He pulled the bright blue package from his wallet. Yes, it was a Trojan. He forced himself down the hall to Larry's locker and shoved the package inside, thinking _Wear it in good health, buddy. _

Now he was somehow in the back of the school van, sitting next to AnnaBelle who was talking incessantly about something or other. He wasn't listening to her, or to anyone, not even to Mr. Dig singing along with the radio. He knew nothing, he saw nothing, until somehow he felt a pair of green eyes upon him. Looking up from his troubled thoughts, he noticed Meryl staring back at him.

Suddenly Gordo's heart bounced off the inside of his chest. _Did she know? _ Did Meryl know? Something about the way she looked at him made him feel certain she knew he had put that condom in Tudge's locker. He knew he should feel more embarrassed than he actually did. After all, nothing clung to him quite so dramatically as the absolute conviction that of all things, he was, most of all, pathetic.

But as pathetic as Gordo felt himself at this moment, he could hardly be bothered to care. He let his eyes pass wearily over Meryl's concerned expression, then shifted in his seat so that he looked out the window of the van, concentrating on nothing more than the white lines of the highway which rushed up with such great commotion, then silently faded away.


	8. Parker

_And now Parker again. This should be fun!_

_BTW, I recently passed my six month anniversary at FanFiction, and at this time I want to say a big Thank You to all my readers who have been so generous with wonderful comments. It's be a great time! Thanks!_

_-_

-

The weather proved glorious the night of the big concert at the Coors Amphitheatre. The crowd roared for the opening act, then went absolutely wild when Green Day took the stage. Even David Gordon, mere days after the departure of his beloved Nicole, could not help but find himself swept up in the energy and the music.

Yes, he had decided to accept Parker McKenzie's invitation. When he put his logical mind to it, nothing else made sense. He could not imagine himself, twenty years from now, explaining to his teenage son why he had once turned down a free ticket to see one of his favorite bands at the area's most exciting concert venues with a girl who, though certainly not his favorite person in the world, was far from the Destructor of the Universe Miranda Sanchez portrayed her as being.

Gordo hated to admit it, but when his logical mind took over, he knew that Nicole's mother would be mostly right in what she had no doubt been ready to say that Saturday morning in the foyer. Time would heal all wounds. He and Nicole would both find new people. Years from now, this would not hurt as much.

And Parker was right too, when she said going to the concert would be fun and help him forget his troubles. He'd been feeling so very troubled these last two weeks, and was more than ready to have some fun.

And fun he had, almost despite himself. For several hours he let himself be carried away by the crowd and by the music. And Parker, he decided, was not so bad after all. Not that he wanted to date her. And this was not a date! When he accepted the invitation, he stressed to Parker that this was not a date, they were only going as friends. She readily and happily agreed. They were "just friends."

And thus, Gordo felt sure, the reason she looked so hot tonight had absolutely nothing to do with him. Surely she had not dressed up for him, in her tight blue jeans and fuzzy v- neck sweater. Gordo spent half the night listening to the music and the other half gazing across at Parker's sweater, wondering what that color was called. Was it turquoise? Was it aqua? Perhaps teal. What exactly was teal, anyway? Surely this sweater was more than simply blue, and yet not quite green. It was one of life's great and wonderful mysteries, the color of Parker McKenzie's fuzzy v- neck sweater resting comfortably over her tight blue jeans.

And her hair! How did she do that? There were…. sparkles in her hair tonight, specks of gold catching the light at every turn of her head. Her lip gloss never faded, her eyelashes seemed to grow as the night went on. Rising up into the night air, Gordo could see and smell the sweet smoke of marijuana. Maybe he was breathing in a little too deeply, maybe he was unintentionally high. How else could he explain why he was so absolutely captivated by Parker McKenzie on what seemed to be the most magical night of the year?

Parker, of course, _had_ dressed up for David Gordon. Those sparkles in her hair were not there by accident, and during a mid- concert trip to the Ladies Room she had reapplied her mascara and given herself another shot of Love's Baby Soft perfume. It was not lost on her that Gordo could not keep his eyes off her sweater. Everything was going so well! Before she rejoined Gordo at their seats she called home and yelled into the phone, "The concert is running long, Daddy! Don't come to pick us up until after midnight at least!"

Daddy, of course, did whatever Parker requested. It was one of her talents, getting her dad to eat out of the palm of her hand, and she had every confidence that she could transfer some of her magical powers on to the now emotionally drained and helpless David Gordon. She wanted him. Oh yes, how she wanted him! Tonight was going to be the start of something big.

She found her way back to Gordo in the stands, lightly touching his shoulder. He turned and looked at her, his eyes traveling down and then up again to her face. He smiled, and Parker returned the smile. Oh yes, she thought, tonight. Definitely tonight.

The concert ended shortly after eleven, and a half hour later most of the other patrons had departed. Parker and Gordo sat on a short concrete wall just outside the amphitheater, enjoying the cool night air and listening to the straggling remnant of concertgoers gushing about what a great show it had been.

Parker swung her legs and looked coyly at Gordo. "Did you have a good time, David?" she asked.

Gordo beamed "Oh, man, Parker! This was the best! Thanks! Did I say thanks already? Well, I'm saying it again. Thanks!"

"I'm so glad you enjoyed it," Parker smiled. "And it was so much fun hanging out with you, David. You were so ready for this, weren't you?"

"Ready for what?" he asked, a little confused, again wondering if he might have inhaled a bit too much smoke.

"Ready to go out and have a good time," Parker said carefully. "Ready to….to forget about Nicole."

Now, suddenly, Gordo was somber. "It's not going to be that easy to forget about Nikki," he said mournfully.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Parker apologized profusely, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "I didn't mean it that way, not at all! Please, please, forgive me, David."

"It's all right," Gordo said quietly. "I know what you meant."

"I only meant," Parker continued, "that at some point you're going to be able to get past all this, and I think you're strong, David, much stronger than you realize. I think you're going to be okay. Really, I do."

Gordo sighed. Suddenly he didn't feel okay.

"I only mean," Parker continued, "if you ever think you need to…well, to talk about any of this, if you think it might help…I'm always here. I'm always ready to listen, David."

He looked across at her, smirking a little. "Thanks."

Then somehow, and later on Gordo could never exactly remember how it had happened, Parker did indeed have him talking about Nicole, telling the entire story of their relationship, detailing the distress of the last few weeks. Except for all the stuff about whether or not he and Nicole should have slept together. He didn't talk to anyone about that, not even Larry. That was his issue, his ghost. But somehow Parker had him spilling his guts about everything else.

Even as he listened to himself talk, though, he wondered why he was doing it. Sure, it had been fun going to this concert with Parker, but he certainly had no interest in developing a deeper relationship with her. And yet, if he continued like this, surely she would place that interpretation upon his deluge of words. He should stop. And yet he couldn't stop. It felt good to talk about Nicole, and Parker listened to him so attentively, the sparkles in her hair still glistening as she gently nodded her head to show she understood.

When Gordo thought he had said everything he could possibly say, he sat back and took a deep breath. For a moment the air was silent. A few cars passed in the distance of the parking lot, but now they were almost completely alone.

"Where is your dad, anyway?" Gordo asked, checking his watch. It was nearly midnight.

"Oh, my dad," Parker scoffed. "He's almost always late."

"I told my parents I would be in before one."

"Don't worry, David. You'll be home in plenty of time," Parker said, and then, without warning, "Tell me, though, I'm really wondering…are you still hung up on Lizzie?"

"What?" Gordo exclaimed.

"I've heard some talk---"

"Well, it's bullshit," Gordo denied instantly. "Who's saying that, anyway?"

"Oh, I don't even remember. It was a while ago, anyway. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything."

"It doesn't mean anything," Gordo insisted. "I'm _not_ hung up on Lizzie. That's ancient history."

"Oh, I see," Parker said simply.

"And right now, I'm not hung up on anybody," Gordo added, taking this opportunity to set the record straight, after his recent soul-baring. "I'm not interested in anyone. I don't want to be with anyone. I just want to be left alone. Honest to God. I want nothing more than to…to…Parker! Parker, what are you doing?"


	9. More Parker

_Parker was starting something in the last chapter, now she's going to finish it up. Why do we love to portray Parker as the evil temptress? Well, at least I do!_

_There will only be a few more chapters after this, then we may get to see Gordo settle down a little bit._

_Enjoy!_

_-_

_- _

Parker was, in fact, moving closer. Gordo could smell the Love's Baby Fresh, he could see every eyelash clearly illuminated in the glow of the nearby lamplight.

"David," she said ever so softly, and for once her voice did not jar. "It's not good for you to be alone. You need somebody…somebody who will listen and understand…and be there…"

Gordo made an attempt to pull away, but Parker moved with him, as if magnetically attached to his force field. "Parker," he said uneasily, "I really just want to…"

He meant to say "I just want to be left alone," but the words did not come out, because he was too absorbed in wondering how it was that suddenly Parker's voice sounded so smooth, and even…pretty. And all night, in fact, hadn't he been thinking about how pretty she looked in this fantastic sweater, with the sparkles in her hair, and her lips so glossy…?

"What is it that you want?" Parker asked quietly, her voice just barely on the edge of seduction.

"I want…I want…to be left alone…." Gordo said, pulling back a little more, but not as much as the last time, and now hardly even able to convince himself that his words held any credence.

Parker moved closer still, and now in addition to the Love's Baby Soft, Gordo could smell the strawberry of her flavored lip gloss and he was overcome by a sudden hankering for strawberries.

To his credit, he did not make the first move, but when Parker did, he did not resist.

The last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was Parker's long lashes as her eyes closed and she moved in so that she could not possibly be any closer. And then he tasted the strawberries, and his heart was pounding and his head was spinning because he knew he wanted to be alone, but at the same time he also wanted this, and that made no sense.

Confused, he let himself be kissed, and then surprised, he realized that he was kissing back. And that wasn't the worst of it. He felt his hand in her hair, trying to discover the secret of the sparkles. Parker opened her mouth a little wider, inviting him, and he came further in.

This was not good, not good at all. He so clearly felt the sensation of tongue against tongue, but was just as clearly aware that this was not Nicole's tongue. Parker felt different, she tasted different. A part of him felt he should be recoiling from the strangeness of all this, but another part of him was becoming fully aroused by the newness of the experience.

Parker made a little noise that vibrated against his tongue, and gently dropped her hand to his pants. Without thinking, Gordo followed suit, but his hand did not fall to her leg, it went directly for the fuzzy and magically colored sweater. Parker again made a noise of approval, pulling herself in closer, forcing her breasts against his shirt.

Gordo startled at this sudden touch and took back his mouth for a moment, but only long enough to whisper, "Parker…"

"David, you shouldn't be alone," Parker breathed, gently squeezing his thigh. "If you were mine, I would never…ever…make you…let you be alone. And I wouldn't make you wait. I would make you so…so…happy…"

Gordo took a deep breath, almost feeling like he was going to pass out. For only a moment his brain jumped back into the driver's seat, just long enough to tell him, _If Parker was your girlfriend, she wouldn't be shy, like Nikki. She would find a way for you to be together right away, even tonight…_

And then, just as quickly, his brain catapulted itself again into the backseat, leaving him at the mercy of that reckless driver, his libido.

Together Gordo and Parker enjoyed this wild ride for several more minutes, until finally Parker drew herself away, proclaiming, "Oh, crap! It's my dad!"

Gordo opened his eyes, refocused, and only saw a pair of headlights approaching on the access road. "That's your dad?" he asked groggily. "How do you know?"

"Look!" Parker exclaimed, and once again her voice jarred him. "A gold Corvette! How many of those do you think there are?"

Gordo now truly felt like he was in an alternate universe. Parker's mom had given them a ride to the concert in the predictable SUV. That's what he was expecting, but now, in a moment, he was bending himself like a pretzel to squeeze into the tiny back seat of a Vette.

"Hi, Daddy!" Parker sang, squeezing in beside Gordo.

"Hey, sweetheart! Who's your boyfriend?"

Gordo startled at hearing himself being referred to as Parker's boyfriend, and then even moreso when Parker did not correct her father's misconception, but even added to her introduction, "Isn't he just the cutest thing, Daddy?"

Mr. McKenzie said a few nice words, stopping short of agreeing that Gordo was "the cutest thing." Gordo found himself speechless, overwhelmed by everything happening so fast. Only a few moments ago he had been kissing Parker, actually thinking about how easy it would be to have sex with her, actually wanting that, but now he was smooshed in the back seat with her, and the power of her perfume was suffocating, and the grip of her hand on his was almost painful. Worst of all, her voice was annoying the hell out of him once again, as she provided her father with a detailed glowing description of how wonderful the entire concert had been.

Gordo sunk back into the soft leather, stifled by the closeness and the strangeness of his environment. As he listened to Parker converse with her father, he suddenly realized what had almost happened. There was something bizarrely manipulative about the way Parker talked to her father. The conversation had turned to a simple matter of which movie they were going to see next weekend, but as Gordo listened, he realized that despite all her dad's objections, Parker was going to get her way and drag him in to see the latest check flick.

Gordo felt a chill run through him, and his hand went clammy in Parker's iron grip. He looked across at her and tried to smile and take back his limb, but Parker merely smiled at him, too sweetly, and lifted his imprisoned hand to her lips, kissing it.

_The kiss of death._

What had he been thinking? He had apparently forgotten all about Parker's ninth grade boyfriend, Ben, who had earned the nickname "Bewitched Benny" while under her spell. Parker ate boys for breakfast. Gordo had no desire to be her next meal, and yet he had begun to let himself be lured onto her plate.

All he wanted now was to get out of this car and into the safety of his own house, where he would slam and lock the bedroom door and hide under the covers until he was 25 and old enough to know better. Not all girls were like Nicole. Oh, how he missed Nicole! He had a feeling once he got under those covers tonight, he was going to find himself smothering tears in his pillow again.

At long last they reached his house, and Mr. McKenzie pulled up the Vette with a long screech. "There you go, Pally," he said. "Now listen, you be good to my little angel or I'm going to hear about it, you understand?"

In the dark, neither Parker nor her dad could see Gordo rolling his eyes. "Yes, of course, sir. I understand."

"May I walk him to the door, Daddy?" Parker asked, no doubt hoping to get one more kiss.

"Oh, no! That's not necessary!" Gordo quickly objected. "Look, the porch light is on, and in fact, I can see my mom sitting in the living room."

"You do?"

"Oh yeah, look at the light. She's there. She's waiting up for me. I'll bet she's warmed up some leftovers for me. I better fly. Don't want to get in trouble with the parental units, you know."

Parker at last let go of Gordo's hand, which was sweating abundantly, despite the coolness of the evening. Gordo wiped his hand on the leg of his pants and catapulted himself out of the Vette.

Parker looked up at him longingly from the back window. "Will I see you tomorrow, Davey?"

Gordo shuddered. _Davey?_ How dare she! With a renewed sense of horror at the evil he was even now so narrowly escaping, Gordo apologized, "Well, I'm sure I'm going to sleep late, and then in the afternoon, we have this…this family thing, you know…"

"Then Sunday?" Parker asked hopefully.

"We'll see about Sunday." This was not exactly a lie, yet enough to allow his escape from the Vette.

Turning swiftly, Gordo waved good bye, and ran directly up the front steps, through the door and into the safety of his very own house, where he found his dinner waiting for him.

And it was still hot.


	10. Lizzie and Miranda

_Greenaura, you were wondering where Lizzie was in all this. Well, here she is! _

-

-

Lizzie and Miranda were no longer the best of friends as they had once been, though they still saw each other on occasion. When the new semester began the Monday after the Winter Break, and they found themselves in the same Humanities class, and at the end of class, which was also the end of the day, they walked together towards the courtyard to meet their boyfriends, and began to talk, once again, like old friends.

"So how's Brett?" Miranda began, more as a way of making conversation than anything else. Miranda couldn't have possibly cared any less about the lug that held the position of honor as Lizzie McGuire's current beau, but she thought Lizzie would appreciate her asking.

"It's Brad," Lizzie corrected. "And he's fine. How's Chris?"

"Good, good," Miranda answered, nodding.

"So…is it getting serious?" Lizzie wondered.

"Oh…yeah!" Miranda exclaimed, infusing her words with more enthusiasm than she actually felt.

"Sounds like you're feeling pretty confident about Prom."

Miranda _pshawed_. "Prom is in the bag," she assured.

For a moment then she was quiet, not because she was thinking about Chris taking her to the prom, but because she was recalling another image that had recently crept into her head and would not let go. This was the image of her good friend Gordo, his hair wild as usual, but otherwise looking so handsome and proper in a black tux with a forest green cummerbund that matched….her dress. Because she saw herself in that dress, the one that had been in the window at Clarissa's since just before Thanksgiving. She knew she would look fabulous in that dress, and that Gordo would look fabulous on her arm, all tuxed up to match. This was the prom picture she imagined, not herself with Chris.

"So…" Lizzie's quiet word interrupted Miranda's thoughts. "How is Gordo these days anyway?"

Miranda started, feeling a little alarmed, slightly transparent. "Why would you ask about Gordo?" she demanded.

"No reason," Lizzie said. "I'm just wondering, on account of he's our friend and all. Is there anything wrong with asking about a friend?"

"No, no!" Miranda agreed heartily, taking a deep breath. "Of course not. Of course he's our friend. And you should ask about him. To wonder if he's okay and all."

"On account of Nicole," Lizzie added. "I just want to make sure he's doing okay after Nicole leaving like that. He is doing okay, isn't he?"

"Oh yeah, he's…he's…" Miranda began, then changed her tone somewhat to say, "Well, it's hard, you know? He's a little depressed. It's only been a few weeks now. They were together a long time. It's going to take him a while to bounce back."

As they walked, Lizzie was quiet, taking this all in. Miranda heard herself continuing to provide very private information about Gordo. She knew she really shouldn't say anything, but this was Lizzie. It was okay if she knew, wasn't it?

"Actually," Miranda suddenly heard herself say, almost against her better judgement, "Gordo had a kind of a…a let down last weekend."

"Oh?" Lizzie asked, keenly interested.

"Yeah. Of course he and Nicole have been keeping in touch by phone and by email quite a bit, but the last few days he's been telling me that Nicole is talking a lot about this new family that just moved into the neighborhood, only days after she did. And it's seems this new family has a teenage son, his name is Tom, and it turns out he's in a lot of Nicole's classes, and it turns out they're walking back and forth to school every day…"

"Oh…" Lizzie commiserated. "Poor Gordo!"

"I know," Miranda agreed. "It doesn't look good."

"So have Gordo and Nicole…I mean, have they officially…?"

Miranda sighed. "If it's not official yet, I'm sure it will be soon. Very soon."

"Oh! Poor Gordo!" Lizzie repeated.

"Yeah," Miranda said simply.

They walked for a few more moments in silence, then Lizzie suddenly burst out with, "I heard he went out with Parker McKenzie." She looked across at Miranda, checking for her reaction.

"Oh, _that_!" Miranda exclaimed. "Yeah, that was pretty much a disaster."  
"It was?" Lizzie asked hopefully.

"Gordo told me all about it. The concert was great, they went to see Green Day, you know. But afterwards somehow Parker got the strange idea in her head that this made them a couple, and she kept calling him and bugging him for days to take her out again. I guess she kind of got to be a pain. Gordo had to tell her off eventually. The girl does not like to take no for an answer."

Lizzie huffed. "Gordo and Parker! As if!"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Miranda agreed. "Somehow I just don't see it."

"You're right," Lizzie said. "Parker is not the girl for our Gordo."

"You're right," Miranda said. "Definitely not the girl for Gordo."

They walked a while longer in silence, each then silently thinking who in fact might be the girl for Gordo. They reached the courtyard, but neither Brad not Chris were anywhere to be seen, so they sat down together on a bench.

"You know," Lizzie philosophized, "I think it's good that you've kept in such close touch with Gordo. I think he really needs that. I'm glad you're there to be his friend, Miranda."

"Well, you're his friend too," Miranda says. "Even though you don't see him much nowadays. The way you feel about him hasn't changed, has it?"

"You mean my feelings for him as a friend?"

"As a friend…and as a brother," Miranda said, reminding Lizzie of a devastating comment she had made to Gordo at the beginning of high school. Of course Lizzie couldn't help the way she felt about Gordo, but Miranda had always secretly been annoyed at Lizzie for breaking his heart so harshly. Even now when she thought about it, it still bothered her.

"Oh yes," Lizzie said now. "My feelings for him as a…a brother."

"That hasn't changed," Miranda repeated.

Lizzie looked across at Miranda and offered a weak smile. "I'll always care about Gordo," she said. "I feel really bad that I haven't kept in better touch with him."

"Gordo's very conflicted right now, Lizzie," Miranda explained testily. "He has a lot of mixed up feelings inside him about so many things. Now would not really be the best time to…to…"

"To what?"

"Well, just in case you were thinking of trying to…you know…"

Lizzie pulled herself up and asked outright, "What do you think I would be trying to do?"

"Well, you know, just….it's just better, I think, if there are no further complications…"

"How would I complicate things?" Lizzie asked, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up a little.

"Oh, believe me," Miranda said, rolling her eyes. "You could totally complicate things for Gordo right about now."

Lizzie sat up even straighter. "What does that mean, Miranda? Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Look, Lizzie," Miranda said outright. "Just leave him alone, okay?"

Lizzie huffed again. "Miranda! What do you take me for?"

"I see. I know," Miranda revealed. "He's in a very vulnerable state right now. He isn't really thinking straight. He had a thing for you once---"

"And he still does?" Lizzie asked, her eyes glowing.

"I didn't say that!" Miranda insisted. "I'm only saying he's confused and----"

"And oh my God!" Lizzie cried. "I get it! I see it! Suddenly I see it! Oh my God!"

Miranda crunched up her brow in confusion and annoyance. "What do you see?"

"You…like…Gordo!" Lizzie exclaimed. "Oh my God, Miranda---!"

Miranda finished up her exaggerated gasp with "I do _not_! Oh my God, Lizzie! You are wrong. So wrong."

"Miranda Sanchez. What makes you think you can lie to me? Especially about boys! Ever since second grade when Kenny Christianson offered you a bite of his Twinkie---"

"It wasn't a Twinkie!" Miranda objected. "It was a Ho Ho---"

"Whatever!" Lizzie waved. "The point is you liked him and---"

"And I have no idea what any of this has to do with Gordo," Miranda stated.

"It's that look in your eye. It's the blush on your cheek---"

"Stop it!" Miranda insisted. "Besides, it isn't me, McGuire, it's _you_ that's got a blush on your cheek----"

"Miranda! This is Gordo we're talking about. I mean, really! Mr. 'I Can't Believe I Got a B-Plus!' Mr. 'Do You Want to Watch the Alfred Hitchcock Festival on Channel Nine?' Mr. 'I Washed My Hair, You Mean I Have to Comb it Too?'"

"Lizzie. Lizzie. Stop and listen to yourself," Miranda said. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

Lizzie frowned, huffed, and said, "What?"

"Shakespeare," Miranda said simply, hoping the reference might sidetrack this conversation, which was growing altogether too uncomfortable.

But then a sudden stroke of good fortune. Brad approached from the left and Chris from the right, and at almost the same moment Lizzie and Miranda stood up to give their respective boyfriends hearty kisses in hopes of proving, to themselves and to everyone watching, that they were excessively happy with their current pairing and had no stray romantic thoughts whatsoever.

The two couples chatted briefly, said their good byes, then walked off in opposite directions. As they departed, Lizzie and Miranda each turned back once, at the same moment, to look at each other. They hoped to convince themselves that they had convinced each other of their absolute disinterest in dear old Gordo.

And they were almost convinced. About each other. And about themselves.

But not quite.


	11. Parker and Meryl

_I know it's been a long time between postings of chapters. My life has been really active, with not much time for fanfiction, but I promise if you are patient I WILL finish this story. There are only a few more chapters left now. I wonder if anybody can guess how it's going to end. Enjoy this, and the next chapter, which is a continuation of this scene, which is already written and I will post pretty quickly!_

_-_

-

Glancing up over the top rack of Feng Shui books, Meryl could easily see into Music and Movies. She had come into Borders Books on this lazy Sunday afternoon to relax, but now she was more aggravated than she had felt all week.

David Gordon was here. That was not aggraating. That was actually quite good, because she like Gordo and was even considering inviting him to sit down in the café with her for a chai tea. But Parker McKenzie! How dare she! Did that girl never give up?

Gordo was standing in Jazz, with the headphones over his ears. At least he was trying to get the headphones over his ears, but Parker kept talking in that high nasally voice of hers, and gentleman that he was, Gordo only smiled politely and said "Excuse me," but Parker would not take a hint, and went on talking.

Meryl had heard that Gordo was put into the uncomfortable position of having to tell off Parker a couple of weeks ago, when she wouldn't stop pestering him. That girl could be a real pain! Meryl saw that there could be trouble ahead.

At last she decided she couldn't allow this to go on anymore. She snapped closed the volume of "Thirty Easy Feng Shui Cures You Can Perform Right Now," returned it to the shelf, and walked directly into Music and Movies. In a moment she was at Gordo's side, putting her hand on his arm and cooing, "Oh, David! _There_ you are!"

Gordo looked at her, surprised. "Meryl!"

Meryl opened her eyes wide at him as she explained, "I've been looking _all over _for you! I found that _book_ we were talking about, the one I wanted to _show _you."

Still struggling with the headphones, somewhat confused, Gordo said, "What book?"

Meryl made the big eyes again, and squeezed his arm, saying, "_That_ book! You know, the one we were talking about. The uh…biographies of this centuries greatest Chess Masters.

"Oh hi, Parker," she added lazily, glancing in Parker's direction.

Parker practically scowled at the little redhead who had interrupted her Gordo-getting. "Oh, hi, Meryl…"

That was the end of their interaction. Meryl immediately squeezed Gordo's arm again and said, "Come on, David! Let me show you the book! I know you'll love it."

Gordo put down the headphones, shrugged at Parker and said, "Sorry. Gotta go."

As Meryl dragged Gordo out of Music and Movies, pulling him by his shirt sleeve, they could practically feel Parker fuming behind them. Meryl looked back at Gordo once, winked at him, and they both nearly burst out laughing.

By the time she got him behind the book stacks of Puzzles and Games, they both had to duck down and stifle their giggles.

"Thank you!" Gordo whispered. "How did you know?"

"Oh, Gordon, come on! The look on your face! It's obvious to everyone that you want nothing to do with Parker McKenzie! Well, obvious to everyone buy Parker McKenzie, that is."

Gordo dropped into a nearby chair and sighed heartily. "That girl is my nightmare," he proclaimed. "Do you know what she wants now? She was asking me to the Valentine Dance!"

Meryl dropped into the chair beside Gordo and gasped. "Has she no decorum? Doesn't she know you and Nicole are still officially together?"

"Well, I---"

"Really!" Meryl fumed. "No shame! No respect! Why, I oughta…."

Gordo found himself grinning. Meryl was so cute when she got angry. Her freckles, he noted, seemed to stand out even more vividly against her rosy complexion, and her green eyes shone like emeralds. _Damn!_ Gordo thought. _I've got to lay off the Shakespeare. Getting way, way too poetic…_

But she was cute.

And it felt good to be grinning. And even better when Meryl gave him a shy sideways smile and asked, "…what?"

Would he tell her? He should tell her. Meryl, you look cute when you're mad. No, he couldn't say that. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't. And at this point he couldn't say the other thing he had been about to say, either, the thing about him and Nicole no longer officially being together. It wouldn't look right for him to say that with a big smile on his face. So instead he just said, "I guess you and Larry are all set for the big dance, though, huh?"

Meryl sat back and sighed. "Oh, that. Yeah. Sure."

Suddenly Meryl no longer looked angry, and she no longer looked cute. She actually looked kind of…sad. So Gordo tried to cheer her up with, "Well, it's nice, you know, that you have someone to celebrate Valentine's with. I mean, look. You could be me…"

"And have Parker McKenzie asking me to the dance?" Meryl tried to joke. "Thanks but no thanks."

Gordo laughed lightly. "No, I mean, you could be me and have….and have no one on Valentine's Day."

"Oh, Gordo!" Meryl said suddenly. "I know it must be hard with Nicole so very far away but---"

Gordo sighed. Even though he was sitting in a perfectly good chair, for some reason he felt compelled to let himself slip out of the seat. Now he was sitting on the floor, for a moment feeling unable to speak.

Meryl looked at him quizzically, then quickly slipped out of her seat also, joining him on the floor. "What is it?" she asked quietly.

Gordo looked at her. He had to say it now. He had to tell someone. This was eating him up. "It doesn't matter about Nicole anymore," he said emotionlessly. "We're not…together….anymore. Not even in a long distance kind of way. It's over."

"Oh---! Oh---!" was all Meryl could manage, feeling his pain.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "She was kind of decent about it, actually. I mean, at least she did it over the phone, not in an email. And she was dead honest. There's this other guy, I guess, this boy in the neighborhood, they've been walking back and forth to school and such, and Nicole's been kind of hoping he would…well, she didn't want to 'cheat' on me. So she figured it made more sense to break up. That way she wouldn't feel bad in case this Tommy…"

But after he said the new boy's name, he found he couldn't talk anymore. He pulled up his knees and wrapped his arms around them, taking a deep breath.

"Oh, Gordon….David…." Meryl commiserated. "I'm so…so sorry…"

Gordo tried to smile, but it was a sad smile. "No, don't be," he said. "It's okay. Really. I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? It was inevitable. I knew it would be coming eventually. The only thing that really hurts, I guess, is that it happened so close to Valentine's Day. I mean, in just a few days, everybody around me is going to be celebrating…candy, flowers, going to the dance…."

They sat quietly for a moment, both somber. A scrawny boy came by scanning the shelves, stopped a few feet away from them and exclaimed "Oh my God! They have Mad Libs here! They have Mad Libs!" Then he ran off, yelling, "Mom! Mom!"

Gordo and Meryl looked at each other briefly and grinned a little. But only a little, then they were quiet again. Meryl was struggling with something. Something that was eating her up, something that she had been thinking for some time it might be nice to get off her chest….

"Gordon," she said, finally, "can I tell you something?"

"You can tell me anything, Mer. You know that."

"I mean, in confidence. You wouldn't tell anyone else?"

Gordo sat up straight. "I'm good, Mer."

He looked at Meryl. Something was up, he could tell. These last several weeks, he had felt highly attuned to everything that was going on with Meryl, even as he felt she was highly attuned to him. Right now, she looked like she needed a friend, so he reached out a little, and pulled on the leg of her blue jeans.

"Hey," he said. "You can tell me anything, Mer."

Meryl nodded. "I know," she said quietly.


	12. More Meryl

_Here is the completion of the scene that is already in progress. After this, we conclude Gordo's Girls on Valentine's Day, which will be told in two or three chapters. Hope everyone is enjoying this!_

_-_

-

This wasn't going to be easy. Meryl took a deep breath. "It's about Valentine's Day, you see. Well, it's not always everything it's cracked up to be. When you're in love, sure. But when you're just kind of…going through the motions….that somehow only makes it worse…."

Gordo scowled. "You and Tudge?"

Meryl nodded. "Yeah," she admitted. "Me and Tudge. It's been this way for a while now. We don't talk about it. But we both know it's coming, I'm sure. I'm pretty sure he's just hanging on now so that we don't have to break up right before Valentine's Day. Or worse yet, _on _Valentine's Day. I know he still cares about me, and doesn't want me to be distressed or anything. You know…. embarrassed…. pitied…"

"Yeah, I know how that is," Gordo said meaningfully. "Being pitied…"

Meryl shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry. Anyway, after Valentine's, after the Dance and all, if he doesn't say something, I think I will. I really think one of us needs to. Don't get me wrong, Gordon. We had a good run. You know? I don't regret anything. I just feel….it's getting time to move on. And I'm pretty sure he feels that way too."

"Wow," Gordo said, "I had no idea, Mer. Well, actually, I guess I had some idea. I mean, I could kind of sense something these last few weeks, that something wasn't quite right between you two…"

Even as he said this, Gordo had an epiphany. Wasn't it true that he had been bothered of late by his changing feelings for Meryl? He had attributed his uneasiness to a severe case of guilt over his even daring to look at any other girl in Nicole's absence. But maybe part of the reason why his feelings had been changing was because on some level he had been sensing that the Meryl Tudge Alliance was about to come to an end, leaving his cute little redheaded friend available for…for…

Gordo sat up straight. "Is there someone else?" he asked suddenly.

Meryl eyed him suspiciously. "You mean is Tudge cheating on me? I doubt it. I think he's way too honorable than that. He's been a good boyfriend. He wouldn't do that. If he wanted to go with someone else, he would break up with me first. The same way Nicole did with you."

"Well, what about you?" Gordo asked, then quickly corrected, "Doh! I don't mean would you cheat on him, I know you wouldn't. I mean, is there anyone else…" and here he could distinctly feel his heart beating inside his chest as me managed to finish, "is there anyone else that you might….might be interested in?"

Meryl looked at him, her eyes large and sparkling green, but very quiet. It was a telling, electrifying moment. They both kind of realized what they were beginning to deal with, but it was not so easy to come right out and talk about it, especially after all that talk about "cheating."

Meryl drew herself up, her eyes piercing his as she very boldly said, "Well….yeah. There is somebody I like. There's somebody that I'm….I'm _looking_ at….you know, and hoping….."

Gordo felt like he was going to burst as she continued looking at him. She did mean _him_, didn't she? Why would she say that unless she meant him? But his razor sharp brain failed him now when he most needed it, and he could think of nothing to say in response, no question or comment that would move this conversation further along to clarify what he was hoping to be true.

Fortunately, Meryl still seemed to have her wits about her and continued, "Of course, I couldn't officially say anything to him while Tudge and I are still together."

"Oh, of course not!" Gordo exclaimed, suddenly feeling as if he had been kicked in the pants. "I understand. I understand perfectly. In fact, there's this girl I like, actually, that I've been thinking of, but I haven't felt free to say anything to her on account of me still being with Nicole."

"But you're not with Nicole any more," Meryl reminded. "That obstacle has been removed."

"You're right, " Gordo agreed. "It has."

"Then….then…what about her?" Meryl asked. "Is she free?"

Very carefully, Gordo said, "Not yet. But I think she may be. Soon."

"How soon?" Meryl wondered.

""Well, maybe after Valentine's Day."

"I don't suppose….I don't suppose you'd want to mention any names?" Meryl suggested, wondering as much as Gordo if there might be some way she could put a seal of confirmation on what they were talking about.

"I…I don't think it would be advisable at this point," Gordo said.

"Well then, how about some initials?" Meryl suggested. "Could you tell me her initials?"

"I think this girl knows what her initials are," Gordo said plainly, looking Meryl directly in the eye.

"Oh," Meryl replied, and then she looked away, all at once feeling that the moment had grown entirely too intense. Surely he would know, just by looking at her. How could he not know?

After this, they sat quietly for a moment, looking first at the floor, then at each other, catching each other's eye with a sheepish smile.

"So then, " Meryl said at last, "as for Valentine's Day, maybe not so good for either of us this year, huh? But after Valentine's Day, things could be looking up. For both of us. You think so, Gordon?"

Gordo nodded. "Yes. I think so. But could I ask you something, Mer?"

"Sure, Gordon. You know you can ask me anything."

"It's just this. The 'Gordon.' It's okay. But before, when you called me David….that was nice. Much nicer than Gordon."

"Well…okay. David."

"And if…if you even wanted to call me Dave….well, that would be okay too. In fact, that would be more than okay."

Meryl grinned at him, her freckles about to pop off her face. "Okay," she said quietly. "Okay….Dave…"

And here David Gordon actually blushed, so strongly that his skin was nearly the color of Meryl's hair. And it would have been a very awkward moment, neither of them knowing what to say next, but before any awkwardness could set in, the scrawny Mad Lib kid reappeared in the aisle, dragging his mother by the hand and exclaiming, "Look, Mom! Look! Mad Libs! Can you believe it? Mad Libs!"

Now Gordo and Meryl really did laugh, and Meryl touched his knee and said, "Hey….Dave…can I buy you a chai tea?"

Gordo felt himself tingling from the inside out. "Well, sure, Mer," he grinned. "Since you asked so nicely…"

They stood up, both helping each other to their feet, hard to say who helped who more, but in a moment they were standing, laughing, and walking together towards to café.


	13. Mom

_Okay, this chapter is a little bit different, but still an important part of Gordo's life, I think. Almost done now._

_ -_

-

As it happened, Valentine's Day occurred on a Friday. This was the worst possible day for Valentine's if you were unattached and facing the prospect of a lonely evening at home, after spending an entire day watching your friends at school give each other balloons and cards and teddy bears as they discussed their plans for a romantic evening.

Friday would have been awful for Gordo if he had not spent the last five days thinking about Meryl and what might happen before the end of this weekend. If not by the end of this weekend, certainly by the following Friday he and Meryl would be together, celebrating their Valentine's, albeit a little late. Gordo didn't mind being late. All that mattered was that it was going to happen. He and Meryl were going to happen. He was getting over Nicole, and he had kind of liked Meryl almost since the day he met her, so he knew this wasn't just the rebound effect. He was genuinely excited about getting together with Meryl.

At school, Gordo pretended he was coming down with a cold. It was a convenient excuse to use on Parker, who was still bugging him to take her to the Dance that evening. He put on such a good show, he almost convinced himself he actually was sick. The more he "sneezed" and "coughed," the more he began to look forward to a quiet evening, hibernating alone at home.

The moment he walked through the door, he smelled his favorite meal cooking. Pot roast. "All right, Mom!" he exclaimed. See? At least his _mother_ loved him. He came into the kitchen. No Mom. No Dad. But there was a note. _Davey, your father and I are going out. Dinner is in the oven. Enjoy, sweetheart! Love, Mom._

Gordo chuckled. Mom and Dad going out. Ha! Even his freaking parents were celebrating Valentine's Day! This was something new. They were both always so busy, it had been years since they had done anything fun together. Gordo knew this had to be a good thing, but strangely, it made him feel sad. It made him feel more alone. He pulled out his plate of food from the oven and sat down at the kitchen counter to eat.

As he ate, Gordo could not help but review the day. Miranda had been talking about going to the Holy Rigatoni with Chris. Gordo remembered too well what had happened the last time he and Nicole had gone to the Holy Rigatoni, just before Christmas. He hoped Miranda and beau would have a better time.

Then he thought of Meryl and Tudge. Yeah, now that he knew, it seemed so obvious. The spark was gone. They were just going through the motions. There was talk about the Dance, and Tudge insisted on going to Boomer's Game Palace afterwards, to which Meryl agreed, but not enthusiastically. Gordo could tell. Their days were numbered.

Even strange AnnaBelle had found someone with whom to celebrate Valentine's Day. She and Green Gus were a match made in Heaven, weren't they? Green Gus was so named for the color of his Mohawk, and his fingernail polish, which, it was rumored, glowed in the dark. AnnaBelle said she intended to find out if those rumors were true.

Gordo personally could think of nothing more disturbing than the idea of those two alone in the dark, so he let his mind wander again, and at last he found his thoughts resting upon a pretty pink cashmere sweater. And wearing that sweater….Lizzie McGuire. Yes, she had looked stunning today. Even glowing. Gordo couldn't help noticing. He wondered how any guy in school could help noticing. He hoped that Brad…Brett….Britt….whoever…he hoped that guy was treating her right.

As he savored the delicious pot roast and thoughts of Lizzie, Gordo suddenly realized he was not alone in the house. He heard steps coming down the stairs, and in a moment, his mother stood in the kitchen doorway. "Oh, good!" she exclaimed. "You found the pot roast!"

"Mom!" Gordo exclaimed. "Wow!"

Mrs. Gordon smiled. "Is it good? I felt so bad, Davey, thinking of you being all along on Valentine's, I wanted to do something special for---"

"Yes! It's good. It's more than good, it's delicious. But that's not why I'm saying 'Wow!'" Gordo revealed. "I mean….Mom! Look at you! Wow!"

His mother giggled, which was actually a little disturbing, and then she twirled around in the doorway, showing off her little red dress. Which was even more disturbing. "I know!" she exclaimed. "It's been ages since your father and I have really gone out, I mean for a romantic evening together, something that wasn't work-related. I thought it would be nice to dress up. You don't need to know how much I spent on this pretty little thing."

"No, I don't need to know," Gordo agreed.

"It's just….well, Dad and I were talking about it and we realized… you know, aren't we just the experts on telling everyone else how to run their lives, how to improve their relationships, how to be happy? But do we ever take our own advice? No, not really. Doesn't that make us the worst kind of hyprocrites? So now we've decided we're going to do everything we can to revitalize our marriage---"

"Okay," Gordo interrupted. "Now I _really_ don't need to know."

Mrs. Gordon stopped and looked at her son. She smiled. But it was a sad smile.

"I'm so sorry, Davey," she said suddenly. "I know it's got to be troubling for you to be alone this Valentine's Day, so soon after losing Nicole. If you want to talk about it----"

"No, Mom. Really. I'm okay."

"Just remember. Your father and I are always here for you."

"Thanks, Mom. But I'll be okay. I'm just going to stay in tonight and watch some movies. I kind of feel a cold coming on anyway…" And here he offered one of his fake coughs he had perfected earlier in the day for Parker.

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Gordon exclaimed, flying to her son's side and pressing her hand against his forehead to feel for fever. "No, you don't feel hot. Thank goodness for that. Are you congested? If you're congested, you shouldn't have the ice cream I bought you."

"You bought me ice cream?" Gordo asked, his demeanor instantly brightening.

"Yes. Creamsicles. They're in the freezer."

"Creamsicles…" Gordo said dreamily. "Well, actually, I don't feel _that_ congested. I think I could manage a few creamsicles."

"And have you been into the den yet? Did you see the movies?"

"What movies?" Gordo asked, his interest piqued.

"Those Die Hard movies."  
"Mom!" Gordo exclaimed. "You rented the Die Hard movies for me?"

"No," she said, smiling. "We didn't _rent_ them. We bought them. I know it seems an odd kind of Valentine's present, these knock 'em down, shoot 'em up celebrations of macho violence, but your father and I---"

Mrs. Gordon did not get to finish her thought, because she was suddenly overwhelmed by a bear hug from her teenage son. "Well!" was all she could get out in a surprised tone.

"No, it's not odd at all," Gordo said over his mother's shoulder. "It's just perfect, Mom. It's perfect. That's just what I needed this Valentine's. Thanks!"

"Hey! Hey! What's going on here?"

Mr. Gordon had just walked into kitchen, and now he was saying, "If this is a group hug, can I get in on it?"

Gordo let go of his mom and went over to hug his dad. It had been a long time since he had done this to either of his parents. It felt a little strange, but it also felt good. "Thanks, Dad," he said. "Thanks for the movies."

"Oh, that!" Mr. Gordon said. "Well, don't enshrine me as a saint quite yet, David. You know, my motives were not entirely pure. I intend to sit down with you and watch every single one. Some night we'll cook up a big bunch of popcorn and do a double feature. A triple feature! We'll stay up all night. What do you say?"  
Gordo wasn't quite sure what to say. This was turning out to be a most unusual Valentine's Day.

Yes, as unusual as it was, nothing could compare with what happened next.


	14. Still Miranda

After his folks left, Gordo settled down in the den with Bruce Willis and Creamsicles. Soon he was so absorbed in the drama, and so full of Creamsicles, that he didn't even remember it was Valentine's Day. Except for a slight tummy ache, he was feeling fine.

A couple of hours passed. Now it was dark outside. As the first movie ended, Gordo wondered if there was some way he could put in the second movie without actually having to get up off the couch. He was so comfortable he didn't want to move. Superpowers would be nice about now. He tried to concentrate the absolute power of his conscious brain on the DVD player in an effort to make the door open, one disc fly out and another fly into its place, but alas, to no avail. _Oh well_, he thought, _so much for the absolute power of my conscious brain._

If superpowers were not available, Gordo considered, he ought to at least have a multi-DVD player. They had units like that for CD's, did they have them for DVD's? He didn't know. What he did know was that if something like this did not already exist, he needed to invent it. This could make him a millionaire! Couch Potatoes all over the world would hold him in the highest esteem. He would be the Couch Potato King and he would never have to get up off the couch again. He sighed, a strange mixture of contentment and frustration welling up inside him.

Eventually Gordo pulled himself up off the couch, inserted the second movie, then plopped down again, thinking of nothing more than how many movies his invention had to be able play at a time in order to make him a millionaire. He wasn't even thinking about the movie on the TV screen when suddenly the phone beside him rang.

Oh crap! His bubble of reverie burst, he now had to deal with the difficult question of whether or not to answer. The phone in the den did not have a Caller ID display. By the time he might manage to pull himself up off this couch again to check the phone in the kitchen, the call could very well go to the answering machine. That wouldn't be too bad, except that he had a very clear memory of Meryl once telling him how she hated the way her voice sounded on the phone, so unless it was a dire emergency, she didn't like to leave messages.

What if this was Meryl? What if things had not gone well with Tudge tonight? What if they has already broken up and she needed his shoulder to cry on? Would she leave a message? Would that constitute a dire emergency?

On the other hand….what if this was Parker? She believed him to be sick at home. What if she was offering to bring him chicken soup? Egads! He couldn't let that happen! But if he didn't answer, she might assume the worst and run right over to---

"Hello?" Gordo said into the phone, adding a tiny cough on the end, just in case.

For a moment his heart stood still, wondering whose voice he was going to hear. He could already hear, in the almost imperceptible hissing in the background, that whoever was calling him was doing so from a public place. Gordo was good like that about the phone. He could pick up all the little clues. Somehow, he also knew that his caller was a female. Well, that was a fifty-fifty, but being that lately girls didn't seem to want to leave him alone, he would have bet one hundred percent of the farm on his caller being female.

In a moment, his mystery caller spoke. "David?"

It was Miranda.

Gordo sighed, somewhat disappointed, but also relieved. Miranda was okay. But, he wondered, wrinkling up his face, why in the world was she calling him now?

"Hey, Randa!" he said brightly. "What's up?"

"Well, that's what I'm calling to ask you," Miranda said. "I heard you're sick. Poor Gordo!"

"No, I'm okay. Don't worry about me," Gordo assured.

"I'm not really worried," Miranda assured. "I'm just…well, I was thinking of you, and I felt kinda bad about you being all alone on Valentine's Day, so I thought at the very least I ought to call you and say Happy Valentine's Day and all that. You know….just to let you know I was thinking about you."

Miranda stopped talking, and for a moment Gordo did not respond. He could hear the clinking of glasses and silverware in the background. "Thanks, Miranda. But I'm okay, really. How about you? Aren't you…aren't you and Chris…?  
"Oh yeah," Miranda said. "We're at the Holy Rigatoni."

Gordo smirked. That was going to be his guess. Damn, he was good! But then suddenly he said, "Hey! Wait a minute, if you're out on a date, how is it that Chris doesn't mind you----"

"Oh, he's not here at the moment," Miranda explained. "He went across to the other side to say hi to Charlie and Allison."

"He left you alone?" Gordo questioned. "On Valentine's Day?"

"Only for a moment!" Miranda objected.

"Still…."

"Oh stop, Gordo! It's not a big deal. He'll be right back. I think he just wanted to see if maybe they want to, you know, double up…."

"He wants you to double date…on Valentine's Day? Randa!"

This time Miranda had no answer, and in her silence Gordo could feel her uneasiness. He suddenly wished he hadn't teased her. If things were not really so good between her and Chris, the last thing she needed was someone rubbing it in her face.

"Listen, Randa…" Gordo began.

"No, you're right," Miranda said suddenly. "It isn't right. I know that. And I know you know that, and I know you would never do something like that to your girlfriend. In fact, I'm quite sure, Gordo…David….that you would be only the very most considerate boyfriend a girl could possibly imagine…"

Okay, now this was officially getting weird. Gordo sensed where this conversation could go, and he didn't want it to go there, not with Miranda, not now. Maybe some other time with Miranda, like the far, distant future. In the furthest recesses of his mind, so recessed he himself almost didn't know it existed, there had always been the possibility that someday he and Miranda might get together. But not now.

He forced himself to think of Meryl, and with her bright smile and funny freckles vivid in his mind, he instantly said to Miranda, "I'm sure Chris is good boyfriend. But he's also a good friend, isn't he? To Charlie, I mean. You have to admire that in a person, someone who sticks by their friends."

"Whatever," Miranda said, suddenly bored with talking about Chris. "The main thing right now is that I want to make sure you're okay, David."

"I told you I was," Gordo said. "Please don't worry about me. My mom's got that covered pretty thoroughly, you know."

"Oh, I'm not worried!" Miranda said. "I really just wanted to let you know…well…that I'm _thinking_ about you…."

She'd said that already. Gordo was starting to feel uncomfortable again. "Well, thanks, Randa. I appreciate that, I really do. But now---"

"And to let you know that I believe….I really, really believe, that somewhere out there is the perfect girl for you, David, the girl who will---"

"I know," Gordo agreed. "I believe that too." He was thinking of Meryl.

"And that someday," Miranda went on, dramatically, "when the time is right, and perhaps when you least expect it---"

Gordo rolled his eyes. Miranda was not planning to give up on this theme any time soon, was she? "Listen, Miranda---" he began.

"Listen to what?"

And then, magically, he heard a beeping on the phone. "Listen, I've got to go," he said. "Someone is trying to ring through."

"Oooh!" Miranda squealed. "Who do you think it could be, calling you on Valentine's Day? Perhaps a secret admirer?"

"You never know," Gordo indulged her fantasy. "Listen, I've got to go. You have a good time with Chris. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Skateboarding?"

"You bet!" Miranda agreed enthusiastically.

"Okay, bye!" Gordo said, and then clicked off the call.

He waited only a moment, sighing deeply, waiting for the phone to ring in his hand. Oh no! What if this was Parker? But then, it could be Meryl! He only had time enough to decide that his multi-disc DVD player would have to have a Caller ID built into the front panel for maximum convenience before he heard the ring and released the call.

"Hello?" he said for the second time that night.

But it was not Parker. And it was not Meryl. It was not Nicole and it was not AnnaBelle or Alexa Kennsington that Kate said had a crush on him. It was not even his mom. It was the last person in the world he ever expected to call him at home again. And as he heard her voice sobbing into the phone, the blood in his veins both pulsed and froze at the same time.

"Gordo? Gordo, is that you?"

"Lizzie…?" he whispered.

"Gordo, it's you! Oh my God, Gordo! Would you come over? Please come over, Gordo! Come now! I need to see you. I really….really….need to see you."


	15. AlwaysLizzie

_Here it is! The grande finale! I feel like it's been such a long time that I've been working on this story, and now at last this chapter in Gordo's life has been completed. If you are interested in moving onwards in this storyline, the next story that I have written in this Gordo-verse is Parker's Obsession. Check it out if you haven't already!_

_Once again, thanks to all my loyal readers. Your comments mean so much to me. And thanks to all my new readers as well. I hope I have entertained. I haven't quite yet got my next project planned out yet, but you can bet it will be Gordo centered! I have several ideas rolling around in my head, some of them inspired by conversations with some of my readers, so thanks, guys! I can't wait to see what might happen next._

_Now, enjoy!_

-

-

Gordo's stomach churned with déjà vu.

He hurried down the street between his house and Lizzie McGuire's, a journey had made more times than he could count, since before he could walk and his mother would wheel him over in the baby carriage. Yet he knew the uneasy sensation he was experiencing now was due to the memory of one particular trip he had made to Lizzie's house, two Novembers ago.

Back then, Lizzie had not called him, but rather Miranda, and Gordo had to pry it out of Miranda that Lizzie was in distress. Knowing this, he had run out of the house and down this path. Tonight, however, he had heard Lizzie's sobs for himself, and even though so much time had passed and he and Lizzie were nowhere near as close as they used to be, none of that seemed to matter. Again, he was out the door, and down the path, not even thinking about what he was doing.

But as the uneasiness increased with the speed of his heartbeat, he took a deep breath and gave himself a swift kick in the brain. Okay, what _was_ he doing? He and Lizzie were barely friends anymore. They said hello and good- bye, but not much else. She was not even interested in his friendship these days, never mind anything more. He was like a freaking _brother _to her, she had said, and it often occurred to him, in all the time that had passed since that revelation two Novembers ago, that considering Lizzie's relationship with her real brother, Matt, that was not necessarily a good thing.

Oh my God! Gordo felt sick. He braced himself. No, he was not going to let Lizzie McGuire get to him again. He was immune to her. He was going to be fine. He was going to find out what was wrong, give her a few token words of comfort, then call one of her _real_ friends to sit with her, if that was what she needed. And where the hell was her family, anyway? He wasn't going to let himself get all wrapped up again in the drama that was Lizzie McGuire. He was immune.

But if he was immune, then why was he running like this?

That question unanswered, he bounded up Lizzie's front path, noting that the family van was not in the driveway, vaguely wondering if Lizzie's parents were also out on a Valentine's date, like his parents. Everyone was out on a Valentine's date, everyone but him and Lizzie. Hey! Why wasn't Lizzie---?  
Now he was knocking on the door, even as these thoughts ran through his head. He really had to slow down. He had to keep his cool---

"Gordo?" came a weak voice from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, it's me," he answered, bouncing on his heels.

Instantly he heard the sound of the chain lock and the deadbolt being unfastened. The door opened slowly, but only a little, and in the crack he could just see Lizzie's long blonde hair swaying, and one bloodshot eye.

"Lizzie, it's me," Gordo confirmed. "Let me in."

"I don't want you to see me," Lizzie sniffed. "I look awful."

"Lizzie, you could never look awful," Gordo said instantly. Now why had he said that? Annoyed at himself, he got a bit gruff with her and added, "Look. Go into the kitchen and put a paper bag over your head, if it bothers you that much. I'll be right behind you, I'll relock the door for you. I know your parents are nuts about you keeping the door locked when they're not home. They're not home, right? What'd they do, go out on a date or something? And what about Matt? Isn't he home? Don't tell me _he's----_"

Through the crack in the door Lizzie gave Gordo one long, deadly stare, then suddenly she disappeared, and Gordo heard her sobs echoing in the hallway.

Oh, brother. He must have said the wrong thing. But Matt out on a date? The world was a changing kind of place, wasn't it?

But some things never changed. As he came into the foyer, he noted that the McGuire house looked exactly the same, smelled exactly the same. He shut the door and fastened the locks. He moved through the foyer into the living room, which was almost completely dark, yet instinct served him well. He had not forgotten anything. He easily maneuvered his way over to the couch, where Lizzie sat curled up in a ball, hugging a large chenille throw pillow.

Gordo sat down on the couch next to Lizzie. He took a deep breath. What to do? How to begin? "Look, Lizzie," he said plainly, "I'm sorry----"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" she snapped. "Rub it in, why don't you? My parents out on a date. My germ of a brother, out on a date. Everybody out on a date, everybody but me!" And then she was wailing again.

Gordo steadied himself. He was not going to be drawn into her web. "Not everybody," he said quietly. "I'm not out on a date."

"Oh, you!" Lizzie scoffed. "You're different. You're Gordo."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Gordo shot back.

"Nothing bad," Lizzie said, giving him a look. "I just mean you were with Nicole so long, and now Nicole is gone, and nobody really expects you to bounce back from that so quickly. It's acceptable for you to be alone this Valentine's Day. But…but not me…cos…cos…"

As Lizzie began to weep again, Gordo sighed. "Oh God, what is it?" he asked. "Did that Britt break up with you?"

"Not Britt. Brad. And yes…yes…he did."

"That scum!" Gordo spit out. "When did he do it?"

"Tonight!" Lizzie cried. "Just…just a few hours ago. I was here, waiting for him to pick me up for our date, and then he calls and…and he says his uncle just flew into town, and he has these tickets for…for some sports thing, I don't know, I think he said it was basketball, I wasn't really listening. All I heard was him saying 'I know you'll understand,' but I didn't understand, and I told him I didn't understand, and then he accused me of being all possessive, and saying I was smothering him, and he said if I wasn't willing to give him a little space then maybe we should just….should just…." But at this point, no further words were possible.

As Lizzie sat on the couch crying, Gordo sat beside her trying his hardest not to be drawn in, but that was impossible. Nobody deserved to be treated like this, not even Lizzie McGuire who had broken his heart fifteen months ago by telling him she wasn't interested in him _like that,_ she only liked him as a _friend,_ and as a _brother…._

And now, as a friend and as a brother, Gordo found he could not help but reach out, pull the chenille pillow from between them and gather up the girl in his arms. He pat her back and whispered, "Calm down…calm down, Lizzie…everything's going to be okay…"

Lizzie cried even harder when he said this, and she squeezed him so tight that soon he felt her tears seeping through the front of his shirt. He felt her tears on his chest, hot tears melting his heart, which was breaking with hers, as he held her and continued to offer words of consolation, which he miserably knew were of no consolation whatsoever.

Then, finally, he willed himself to say what he had been thinking for some time, but his brain had been warning him to be careful. Lizzie was extremely vulnerable right now, to be sure, but so was he. There was way too much history between them. He feared it might be too easy to fall back into the old ways. He had to keep his wits about him. Especially now when he could smell the lovely scent of her perfume. He had to remind himself that she hadn't put on that perfume for him, she had put it on for Brad or Britt, whoever the hell that scum bucket was. The perfume was not for him. The softness of her skin was not for him. And this little pink dress, which was even now hiking its way up her thighs as he held her….not for him.

And so, reminding himself that none of this was for him, he pulled in a deep breath, and as the world's greatest guy friend, Gordo announced, "Lizzie, nobody deserves to be treated like that. That guy is just a creep, and you deserve so much better. You are a sweet, beautiful girl, with so much to offer the right guy. They're all a big bunch of losers, every last one of them that's ever let you go. If they can't see what a…what a…."

Gordo stopped and caught his breath. There were no words to describe Lizzie. And it was not often that he was at a loss for words. What was happening here?

"And if they can't see that," he went on boldly, "then that's their loss, not yours. They're immature idiots. Every last one of them. Not worthy. Immature idiots. God, I wish I was…like….I don't know, a foot taller and fifty pounds heavier and a …a wrestler or something, I would go over to Britt's house right now and knock the living shit out of him. I would just….I wish I could…."

Gordo suddenly realized Lizzie was no longer crying. She had lifted her head, and was looking right at him. "Gordo," she squeaked, "would you really?"

He looked at her. The room was dark, her face only illuminated by a dim light shining in from the back porch. He could clearly see every last tear, and yet…and yet she was so beautiful. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. Oh, no. This could _not_ be happening to him. Not again. Not now.

"I…I…" he stuttered, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Cos I…I don't need you to do that, Gordo. I don't want you to do that. I don't care about any of that," Lizzie said, and now her voice was calmer than before. "I don't care about those guys. And especially not about Brad. What a jerk! What was I thinking? Why have I been going out with such creeps, when all the time there's been…there _is_… this sweet, sensitive, caring guy right here, who's always been here, always been my friend, always been right by my side, no matter what, who still cares about me so much that the moment I call, whenever I'm in trouble, he----"

"Whoa!" Gordo said, pulling away from Lizzie. "Don't even try it. Why are you messing with me, McGuire?"

"I'm not messing with you, Gordo. I…I…."

"I think you're having a….I don't know, some kind of _reaction_…."

"Gordo! Why is it so hard for you to believe---?"

"Cos the last time we talked like this, McGuire, in case you don't remember, you very pointedly told me how you think of me as a friend and as a brother. And it's just too, too sick to even think of---"

"But I…I….oh, Gordo! Oh my God! Listen. I'm so…so sorry about that," Lizzie said desperately.

"What?" he exclaimed, now jumping back. "What are you telling me?" he demanded, taking a few steps away from the couch. "Lizzie, quit screwing around with me. I really don't need this right now."

"Gordo! I'm not screwing around!" Lizzie insisted. "I'm telling you now…finally….how I really feel."

"Wait a minute," Gordo said. "Are you telling me that you were _lying_ when you said that bit about me being like a brother? That you don't really feel that way?" Gordo felt his head spinning, just to think of it.

Lizzie sat on the couch and grabbed the pillow again, hugging it in her lap. "I wasn't lying, Gordo…well, not exactly. I was…confused, I guess. I was in denial, probably. I can't explain it. And I can't explain why it's taken me this long to see it, but…but now I do. Gordo. Oh, God, Gordo. Now I do. Now, suddenly, I see everything so clearly. More clearly than I ever have before.

"I'm looking at you, right now, and I see you…I feel like it's for the first time. Is that weird? How long have we known each other? Like forever, right? But now, I'm looking at you, standing there…right here in my living room, in my very own house, where I've seen you a million times before, and…and…oh my God…._Gordo…."_

And there was something about the way she said his name. It went right into him, deep into him, deep into the part of him that was most of who he really was.

"Gordo…."

She said it again, and each time she said it, it was becoming more and more inevitable. But Gordo knew he had to try, one last time, to protect himself, to be reasonable.

"I'm not going to be your rebound guy, McGuire," he said quietly into the darkness.

Lizzie pushed the pillow to the floor again. She shifted on the couch a little, and now, Gordo noticed, almost despite himself, that the hem of her dress also shifted. He looked at the line of pink, and then he looked up into her face, and again his blood pulsed, but this time it did not freeze. His blood just kept pulsing and pulsing throughout his whole body, and the image and the sensation of Lizzie filled his body, more than it ever had before.

And then, as if this wasn't bad enough, he heard her say, so softly, in her sweetest Lizzie voice, "How can you be my rebound guy, Gordo, when …I think…in my heart of hearts….there's never really been anyone for me… but you?"

Gordo closed his eyes. How could this be happening?

"And I think," Lizzie went on, "if you let yourself consider it for just a moment, I mean, if you're honest with yourself, you'll realize there's never really been anyone for you….but me…."

No. He told himself no. He tried to ignore what was happening in his brain and in his body, and he tried to remember why he was saying no. There was this vague sensation, somewhere in the back of his mind, something about freckles….

Oh God. He couldn't think of who that was. He couldn't think of anything or anyone but Lizzie. His heart was beating so wildly as he saw her stand up and take a few steps towards him. The closer Lizzie got to him in that dark, quiet living room, the further away all other girls seemed. Nicole….Meryl….who were they? There was nobody but Lizzie.

Of course he knew that. He had always known that.

She was before him now. He didn't even have to think about what to do. He reached out and took her hands, and in that simple touch, there was no more denying.

The world was a changing kind of place, wasn't it? Well, some things changed, but some things would always stay the same. There would always be Lizzie McGuire, and he would always love her. There would always be Lizzie and Gordo. That much was certain. It just seemed they had both taken the long way around to this realization.

But now, as they held hands, and moved in towards each other, their lips getting closer and closer, strangely, at this moment, when everything should be spinning more wildly than he could bear, Gordo now felt… finally… calm.

As his lips approached Lizzie's, a single thought ran clearly through his mind.

_Life, as I know it, is over._

And now, at last, that was a good thing.


End file.
